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Childhood Vaccinations: Everything You Need To Know

Vaccines help keep your child healthy and safe from serious diseases. They also protect your family and keep your community healthier for everyone. This is especially true for the frailest among us, such as babies, sick kids and adults, and the elderly.

How Vaccinations Work

Vaccines work by imitating an infection so your child’s body will use its natural defenses to attack it. Vaccines contain the weakened or killed bacteria or viruses, which trigger your child’s body to make antibodies. These proteins neutralize foreign substances and then leave behind cells prepared to fight again if the bacteria or viruses return.

A single dose of vaccine provides only partial protection. The number of doses needed to achieve immunity depends on whether the antigen in a vaccine is alive or not. If the vaccination contains living bacteria or viruses, it can provide enduring protection with only two doses. By contrast, non-live vaccines typically require at least three doses for protection that fades over time and must be restored with booster doses.

Because immunity can take weeks to develop after vaccination, it is possible for your child to become infected in the weeks immediately following vaccination. Even after that, vaccinated kids can get infected. But your child is far less likely to die or become seriously ill than a kid whose immune system is unprepared to fight an infection.

When Should Your Child Be Vaccinated?

Top disease experts work together throughout the year to update the recommended child and adolescent immunization schedule for ages 18 and younger. The schedule is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health care organizations. It is based on ongoing review of the most recent scientific data for each of the recommended vaccines and other immunizations. To be included in the recommended schedule, the vaccines must be licensed by the Food and Drug Administration.

The current schedule includes vaccinations designed to protect your child against:

  • Chickenpox
  • Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP)
  • Hepatitis A & B
  • Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV)
  • Influenza
  • Measles, mumps and rubella
  • Meningococcus A and B
  • Pneumonia
  • Polio
  • Rotavirus

Check here for when each vaccination should be given. Your child’s pediatrician will help you keep track of and schedule the vaccinations.

How To Help Your Child

Preparing your child for vaccinations is important to reduce stress during the experience. Keep these simple steps in mind:

  • When possible, schedule your child’s vaccination appointments for times that are best for their routine
  • Tell toddlers or preschoolers about their vaccinations a day or two before the visit. Remind your child that you will be with them the whole time
  • Talk about and validate your child’s concerns
  • Help your child pick out something special to bring to the appointment

During your child’s appointment, consider:

  • Trying not to be apprehensive; your child will pick up on that
  • Asking your child’s provider if you can hold your child in a comfort position while the shot is administered
  • Using distraction techniques, such as watching a video or listening to music, to help your child relax and feel safe

Afterward you can:

  • Ask your provider about appropriate pain relief
  • Praise your child for holding still or other specific behaviors
  • Encourage your child to return to their routine

Common Misconceptions

Because of the rumors circulating online, you may be concerned that giving your child certain immunizations is unsafe. The most common misconceptions persist about vaccines and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and developmental delays. Here is how these myths started and how they have been debunked:

In the 1990s, a paper was published by a doctor who looked at 12 kids and theorized that their autism was due to the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. That paper was discredited, and the journal retracted it. Still, parents were fearful, so many other studies were done in different countries and included thousands of children. They found no reason to link vaccines to autism. Another suspected source of this misconception is timing. Children with ASD often are diagnosed between 18 and 30 months of age — around the same time the MMR vaccine is given. However, increasing evidence shows that even though the symptoms of ASD may not be visible until the second year after birth or later, ASD starts before a baby is born.

Another common myth is that the preservative thimerosal added to vaccines in the 1930s causes nervous system problems. That’s because thimerosal contains mercury, and parents worried that this mercury was toxic. However, mercury is a naturally occurring element in the earth's crust, air, soil and water. There are two types of mercury — and they are very different. Thimerosal contains very small amounts of one type of mercury that is added to some vaccines to prevent germs from growing. This type of mercury does not stay in the body. It is different from the other type of mercury that is found in certain kinds of fish. That type can stay in the human body and make people sick. Even after many studies, thimerosal has never been shown to cause neurologic problems. Thimerosal has not been used in vaccines for children since 2001. Only some flu vaccines contain thimerosal.

SIDS has been falsely linked to vaccinations primarily because of timing. Babies get many of their first vaccines between 2 and 4 months of age, which also is the peak age for SIDS. However, scientific studies have confirmed that vaccines do not cause SIDS. In fact, vaccines may help prevent SIDS.

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