As you prepare for the upcoming school year, make sure your kids are up-to-date on their vaccinations. There are tools available online to help parents and pediatricians keep a current immunization schedule for children.

Why Vaccinate Your Child?

Vaccinate your child to protect his or her health and to make sure schools and communities remain free of outbreaks of unnecessary health threats.

Importance of Vaccinations with Age

• Birth-6 Years: The immunization schedule for children begins in infancy. There are vaccinations available to protect kids against 14 vaccine preventable diseases. Parents who elect to pass on vaccinations put their children and the entire community at risk of contracting serious or life-threatening illnesses.
• Ages 7-18 Years: Both children and teenagers require vaccines for health and safety. Annual flu shots are recommended for children 6 months and older. Even healthy teens can get a serious bout of the flu.

As children grow older, they become more at risk for contracting diseases, such as meningococcal meningitis, a vaccine preventable disease. The recommended vaccination chart for kids and teens is updated regularly to reflect new research advances that include new vaccines. Immunizations for conditions such as HPV, should be administered at 11-12 years and 13-18 years of age. If these treatments aren’t given on time, your child should be brought up to date as soon as possible.

The childhood vaccination for pertussis and other highly communicable diseases wears off eventually. That is the reason why older kids aged 11-13 receive the Tdap booster shot. Teenagers and adults who missed the Tdap should receive this vaccination right away. DTaP is the first version of the vaccine that is given early on to infants and young kids.

Vaccination Charts

A vaccination chart is offered by the CDC for people aged 7-18 as a reference guide for parents and pediatricians to help protect everyone from vaccine preventable diseases.

Different states have their own individual vaccination charts to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases, like pertussis. If you don’t know your state’s requirements for schools, ask your family pediatrician, check with your child’s school administration or local health department.