Immunizations for your Kids

Review the changes to the 2012 immunization schedule to see if the latest CDC immunization schedule for children and teens means that your kids need any extra shots.

Live vaccines, despite some parents concerns about viral shedding, have played an important part in combating deadly infections, including measles, polio, and small pox.

The vaccine debate continues for some people, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and don't cause autism. With so much misinformation about vaccines confusing parents, it can be hard for some to know what to do and whether or not to vaccinate their kids. In addition to talking to your pediatrician, reading one of these books...

Understanding vaccine facts and avoiding vaccine misinformation can help to make sure your kids are fully vaccinated and safe from vaccine preventable infections and outbreaks.

Modern vaccines and vaccination plans began with the development of the first smallpox vaccine and have continued as vaccines have been developed for a number of other childhood infections, such as polio, measles, and pertussis, etc.

Children without a working spleen are at risk for many infections, which makes getting appropriate vaccines for asplenia important.

Immunization records can sometimes be hard to figure out if you don't understand the common vaccine abbreviations or acronyms that are now used in place of some vaccine names.

Most parents now something about the vaccines their kids get, but it is often just that you show up to your well child checkups and your Pediatrician tells you what shots you need. Take our Immunization Quiz to see if you know as much about the vaccines your kids get as you should.

With the wide availability of whooping cough vaccines, many parents likely wonder why this vaccine preventable infection is still such a problem. Make sure your kids and their contacts are fully vaccinated with a whooping cough vaccine, including teens and adults, to decrease their chance of getting whooping cough.

National Infant Immunization Week is held each year to highlight the importance of immunizations that protect children against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.

Although mercury has been removed from most vaccines, vaccines may still contain aluminum, formaldehyde, human serum albumin, gelatin, antibiotics and yeast proteins. Learn why your child's vaccines may have these additives and why the AAP says they are safe.

Not surprisingly, there has been a debate about the safety and importance of vaccines even before the first vaccine was introduced. Being reminded of this first debate and how now vaccine preventable illnesses affected other people may help parents as they debate the vaccine issue for themselves.

Vaccines have done such a good job of controlling diseases in developed countries, such as the United States, that parents sometimes forget just how important they are and what life would be like without them. Learn about how current vaccines and past vaccination programs have now controlled 10 major infectious diseases.

Review why unvaccinated children and those who are not fully vaccinated also pose a risk to infants who have not yet completed their first series of immunizations and those children who have immune system disorders.

While very helpful, unfortunately, vaccines can sometimes cause side effects. Learn how to report side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) if your baby does have a moderate or severe reaction to any of the vaccines that he gets.

Because of herd immunity, vaccines that children get can protect other people who aren't immune from vaccine preventable infections, either because they don't get vaccinated, their vaccine wasn't effective, or because they have become immunocompromised.

Most people think of Pneumovax as the classic pneumonia vaccine. There are many other pneumonia vaccines that can protect kids from bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia, including Prevnar 13, Hib, DTaP, and the seasonal flu vaccine.

Meningitis can be a severe infection of the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord and brain. Fortunately, there are several meningitis vaccines to help protect children from bacterial meningitis.

Review where you can get free vaccines or low cost vaccines for your child that is uninsured or underinsured and can't afford vaccines.

Learn about the current vaccine shortages and delays, including the current Hib vaccine shortage and how it may affect your child.

Your child has had all or most of his vaccines, but you can't find his vaccine records. Your doctor can't find them either. What do you do? Does he need to start getting shots all over again?

The 'vaccine debate' about whether vaccines are safe or could be causing autism has been in the news a lot lately. For most pediatricians, the vaccine debate doesn't revolve around trying to change the minds of anti-vaccine proponents. Instead, they work to help parents make an informed decision about vaccinating their children.

Prevnar 13 is an updated version of the Prevnar vaccine that can protect children against more types of pneumoccocal bacteria that cause serious infections, including meningitis, pneumonia, and blood infections.

Pneumovax is a pneumococcal polysaccaride vaccine that is recommended for high risk children who are at least two years old.

Pentacel is a combination vaccine that combines the DTaP, IPV, and Hib vaccines into a single shot.

Kinrix is a combination vaccine that includes the DTaP and IPV vaccines into a single shot.

Rotarix is a new rotavirus vaccine that protects children against mild and severe gastroenteritis that is caused by certain strains of rotavirus.

Learn about Cervarix, an experimental HPV vaccine that may compete with Gardasil.

Understanding vaccine safety can help you to learn the importance of immunizations to protect your children from vaccine preventable diseases. Also learn about the benefits and risks of vaccines and their side effects and what to do if your child has an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

Vaccines have always been a bit controversial, but Gardasil, the HPV vaccine that protects girls against 4 types of HPV, or human papillomavirus, including the two types that cause most cervical cancers and the two types that cause the most genital warts, has been especially controversial.

Gardisil is a common misspelling for Gardasil, a new, recently FDA approved vaccine being made by Merck against the two types of HPV or Human Papillomavirus that cause most cervical cancers and the two types that cause the most genital warts.

Thimerosal is a mercury containing preservative that was commonly found in vaccines since the 1930s.

Gardasil is a new HPV vaccine that has been approved by the FDA to prevent cervical cancer in girls between the ages of 9 and 26 years of age. In fact, some states may begin requiring that all school girls receive the HPV vaccine.

The ACIP is now recommending that children get a second dose of the chickenpox vaccine when they are four to six years old, which should help to further decrease chickenpox infections.

Gardasil is an investigational vaccine being made by Merck against the two types of HPV or Human Papillomavirus that cause most cervical cancers and the two types that cause the most genital warts.

Get more information about the vaccines your baby is going to get at her well child checkups.

RotaTeq is a new rotavirus vaccine from Merck. It was approved by the FDA on February 3, 2006.

ProQuad is a new vaccine that combines the MMR and Varivax vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox into a single shot.

Read about Boostrix or Tdap, a new vaccine to protect older children and teens against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis or whooping cough.

Learn more about Menactra, a new vaccine to protect your kids against meningitis and meningococcal disease.

Learn more about two new vaccines, Boostrix and Menactra, that will be available to help protect older kids from pertussis and meningitis.

Review why it is still important to continue to vaccinate our kids, even as the levels of many vaccine preventable illnesses are at record low levels in the United States.

Review our Vaccine Information Statements (VISs), which are information sheets that explain to parents both the benefits and risks of vaccines, such as those to prevent chickenpox, measles, polio and pertussis.

Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) are information sheets produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that explain to vaccine recipients, their parents, or their legal representatives both the benefits and risks of a vaccine.

Pediarix is a new 'super' vaccine that combines three immunizations into one, meaning your kids will need to get fewer shots.

Prevnar is a new vaccine that can help to prevent infections by the pneumococcal bacteria, which is a common cause of blood infections, meningitis and ear infections in children.

Are your children's immunizations up-to-date?

My kids missed some shots this past year because of the shortages. Can they get their shots now?

Learn where you can find Pediarix so that your infant has to get fewer shots at each doctor visit.

A flu shot can help prevent your children from getting influenza, and is especially recommonded if they have a chronic medical problem, such as asthma or diabetes, or are around someone else that is high risk.

Learn more about the California pertussis outbreak, including which kids are at risk and how you can help your kids avoid pertussis or whooping cough with a pertussis vaccine.

In the wake of study after study that conclude that vaccines are safe and disprove the links between vaccines and autism, many parents continue to believe that it is safer to either not vaccinate their kids or follow a selective or alternative immunization schedule. Seth Mnookin's 'The Panic Virus' will help you understand why the anti-vaccine...

Review the changes to the 2011 immunization schedule to see if the latest CDC immunization schedule for children and teens means that your kids need any extra shots.

Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) which provides technical guidance regarding common immunization concerns for health-care providers who administer vaccines to children, adolescents, and adults.

Myths and facts about immunizations from the Australian Skeptics website.

PATH’s Vaccine Resource Library offers a wide variety of high-quality, scientifically accurate documents and links on vaccine-preventable diseases and topics in immunization, as they work to promote equal access to new and lifesaving vaccines worldwide.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine education center, which provides 'accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about childhood vaccines, and the diseases they prevent, to parents and health-care professionals.' Includes information about each vaccine, and answers to important questions, such as 'Are Vaccines Safe?' and 'Are Vaccines Still Necessary?'

Infomation to help you dispel common misconceptions made by anti-vaccine proponents, including the myths of links between vaccines and SIDS and autism.

Aims to promote immunizations to prevent vaccine preventable diseases by providing information of the vaccines and the diseases they prevent.

The IAC is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote immunizations in children and adults. Includes immunization schedules for children and adults, Vaccine Information Statements translated into many different languages, and an Ask the Experts forum for parents and pediatricians to answer common questions.

Information, including a resource kit, to help Pediatricians promote immuizations and to help parents to make informed decisions about getting their kids fully immunized. Includes a database with state by state requirements and regularly updated vaccine newsbriefs (that you can subscribe to).

From the US Center for Disease Control , with information on vaccines for children and adults, benefits of immunization, vaccine recommendations, and future developments.

Explanations about six common misconceptions about vaccination, including that the diseases that vaccines prevent have been eliminated in the United States.

A database of information about vaccines and current news for doctors and parents.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) collects information any adverse effects that immunizations may cause. With the online reporting form, doctors and parents can report possible vaccine side effects so that they can be further investigated.

CBER list of Vaccines Licensed for Immunization and Distribution in the U.S.