One of the most important things you can do for your child is protect them from vaccine-preventable illnesses. Without vaccines, your child is at greater risk of serious illness or death from viruses and other diseases.
There are many childhood vaccines to keep track of. That can make it hard to know when your child needs to see a health care provider for vaccines.
This guide can help you understand the illnesses that routine pediatric vaccines protect against and navigate the vaccine schedule for your child.
Are Vaccines Safe?
The first thing parents want to know about vaccines is whether they are safe for their children. The answer is yes — these vaccines are safe for children.
What’s a Normal Reaction to Vaccination?
Severe side effects from vaccines are very rare. The diseases your child could contract without vaccines pose a much greater health risk to your child than the vaccines themselves.
After your child gets a vaccination, they might experience the following:
- Redness and soreness — Placing a cool, damp cloth on the area where the shot was given will help reduce redness and/or soreness.
- Fever — Treat with a fever-reducer.
- Fainting — Fainting after a vaccine is more common among teenagers than younger children. Having your child sit or lie down when getting a shot and for about 15 minutes after the shot can help prevent fainting.
Your child’s pediatric care provider is available to any questions before, during, and after a vaccine is given.
What Illnesses Do Vaccines Protect Against?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your child will need a number of vaccinations during their first years of life.
Here’s a list, alphabetical order, of the vaccines and the illnesses they prevent.
Chickenpox vaccine
The chickenpox vaccine protects against this highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It causes an itchy, blister-like rash, which typically appears first on the chest, back, and face before spreading over the entire body.
Before the vaccine, chickenpox used to be common in the United States. An average of 4 million people per year got chickenpox, up to 13,000 were hospitalized for it, and up to 150 people died of it. Since the vaccine became available in 1995, more than 3.5 million cases of chickenpox, 9,000 hospitalizations, and 100 deaths are prevented each year in the U.S.
The CDC recommends two doses of chickenpox vaccine for children starting at age 1 and catch-up dosing for adolescents, and adults who have never had chickenpox and were never vaccinated.
The COVID-19 vaccine
The COVID-19 is safe, effective, and available for children 6 months old and up. It protects against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a vaccine to help protect against COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination continues to protect children against severe disease and hospitalization.
DTaP vaccine
The DTaP vaccine helps children under age 7 develop immunity to three deadly diseases caused by bacteria: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough).
A similar vaccine called Tdap is used as a booster shot for these diseases. It is given to older children and adults.
Hepatitis A vaccine
The hepatitis A vaccine protects against a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is passed mainly through contaminated food or water or from close contact with an infected person.
Hepatitis B vaccine
The hepatitis B vaccine protects against liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV spreads when body fluid from an infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected. This can happen from mother to baby at birth or later in life through sexual contact, sharing needles or other drug-injection equipment.
For some people, HBV can become a long-term, chronic infection that can lead to serious and life-threatening health issues like cirrhosis or liver cancer.
The risk for chronic infection is related to age at infection. About 90% of infants with hepatitis B go on to develop chronic infection, whereas less than 6% of people who get hepatitis B as adults become chronically infected.
Hib vaccine
This vaccine protects against Haemophilus influenza type b, a bacteria that can cause illness ranging from mild, like an ear infection, to very severe such as sepsis (blood infection), epiglotittis, or meningitis.
Before the vaccine, Hib disease was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis among U.S. children under 5. Severe Hib infections require treatment in a hospital and can sometimes result in death.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
HPV vaccination protects against HPV, a common virus that can cause cancers later in life.
Nearly 42 million people are currently infected with HPV in the U.S. About 13 million people — including teens — are newly infected with HPV each year. These infections cause nearly 36,000 HPV-related cancers per year, including cancers of the throat and reproductive organs of both males and females.
All preteens, starting as early as age 9, should get a two-shot series of HPV vaccine. A three-shot series is needed for those with weakened immune systems and those who start the series at age 15 or older.
Influenza (Flu)
A yearly flu vaccine protects against the flu and its potentially serious complications.
Flu—short for influenza—is an illness caused by influenza viruses. Flu viruses infect the nose, upper airways, throat, and lungs. Flu spreads easily and can cause serious illness, especially for young children, older people, pregnant women, and people with certain chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes.
Flu viruses are constantly changing, so new vaccines are made each year to protect against the flu viruses that are likely to cause the most illness. Also, protection provided by flu vaccination wears off over time. Your child’s flu vaccine will protect against flu all season, but they will need a vaccine again next flu season for best protection against flu.
Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) and Serogroup B meningococcal (MenB)
These two vaccinations protect adolescents from bacteria that cause meningococcal disease, including infections of the brain and spinal cord lining and from the long-term disabilities that can result from surviving such an infection.
MMR vaccine
This vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.
Measles can cause pneumonia and lead to swelling of the brain, called encephalitis. This can cause seizures and brain damage.
The mumps virus causes swelling in glands just below the ears, giving the appearance of chipmunk cheeks. Before the vaccine, mumps was the most common cause of both meningitis and acquired deafness in the United States. In boys and men, mumps can infect the testicles, which can lead to infertility.
Rubella, also known as German measles, can cause a rash on the face and swelling of glands behind the ears. In some cases, it can cause swelling of the small joints and low-grade fever. Most children who get rubella recover quickly with no lasting effects. But if a pregnant woman gets rubella, it can be devastating. If infected during the first trimester of pregnancy, there’s at least a 20% chance the baby will have a birth defect such as blindness or deafness, a heart defect, or intellectual disabilities.
Polio (poliomyelitis) vaccine
The polio vaccine protects against the disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis (when you can’t move parts of the body.)
Rotavirus vaccine
This vaccine protects against the rotavirus, a highly contagious illness that commonly causes severe, watery diarrhea and vomiting in infants and young children.
Babies and young children with rotavirus may become dehydrated quickly and may need hospitalization. The disease can even lead to death.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Vaccines are available to protect infants and young children from severe RSV.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious. Infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe RSV and need hospitalization.
Pediatric Vaccine Schedule
The full list of vaccines your baby should receive within their lifetime may look intimidating at first glance.
Rest assured that the vaccinations will be spread over many visits, so your child will not receive all of their shots at once.
There are many ways you can comfort your child or reduce their stress. Holding their hand, distracting them with a favorite song, and a big hug afterward will help.
Newborn
Newborns typically receive their first vaccine — the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine — in the nursery within 24 hours of birth.
Over the next year, your pediatrician will administer the following vaccines for your baby during their well-child visits:
2 months
- First dose diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP).
- First dose haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB).
- First dose pneumococcal vaccine (PCV).
- First dose polio (IPV).
- First dose rotavirus.
- Second dose Hepatitis B.
4 months
- Second dose DTaP.
- Second dose HIB.
- Second dose IPV.
- Second dose PCV.
- Second dose rotavirus.
- Third dose hepatitis B.
6 months
- First dose of COVID-19 vaccine (second dose is four to eight weeks after first).
- Flu vaccine.
- Fourth dose hepatitis B.
- Third dose DTaP.
- Third dose HIB.
- Third dose IPV.
- Third dose PCV.
- Third dose rotavirus.
12 months
- Chickenpox (varicella).
- First dose hepatitis A.
- Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
15 months
- Prevnar.
- HIB.
18 months
- DTaP
- Second dose hepatitis A.
4 to 6 years
Once your child enters their toddler years, they won’t need any vaccines except for yearly flu and updated COVID-19 vaccines but should continue to see their pediatrician for regular well-child visits and assessment of growth and development. These visits are also an opportunity to ask your pediatrician questions. When they reach 4 to 6 years of age, they will be recommended to receive:
- Fifth dose DTaP.
- Fourth dose IPV.
- Second dose MMR.
- Second dose varicella.
9 years
- First dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (followed by a second dose six months later).
11 to 12 years
At this age, it’s recommended that your child receive:
- Tdap.
- First dose of meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY).
- Dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (followed by a second dose six months later) if series if not already started and completed.
13 to 18 years
At this age, the CDC recommends that your child have annual flu and COVID-19 vaccines but in addition receive:
- First dose serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) between 16 and 18, with the second dose six months later.
- Second dose MenACWY at age 16.
Your child should also receive catchup vaccinations they previously missed and any vaccines required for college or international travel.
Other vaccines
Your child may need additional vaccines depending on their health.
Your child’s pediatrician or health care provider will advise you about any additional vaccines or doses your child may need. They also will discuss scheduling any missing vaccines within recommended timeframes.
Remember: If your child misses a shot, you don’t need to start over. Just go back to your child’s provider, and they can help figure out the next shots your child should get.
Questions About Vaccines?
Talk to your pediatrician about any questions or concerns you have about your child’s vaccine schedule.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .