child vaccines

Protect Your Child’s Health

Vaccines protect children from getting sick from many crippling or deadly illnesses. Thanks to decades of immunization, diseases like measles and polio are mostly a thing of the past in the U.S.

Why Children Need Vaccines

During their first few weeks of life, babies have some protection against germs that cause disease. The mother passes this natural immunity to the child through the placenta just before birth. Unfortunately, this protection quickly goes away and puts the infant at risk for dozens of potentially dangerous diseases. That’s where vaccines come in. Vaccines “train” your child’s own immune system to fight off invading viruses and bacteria.

How Vaccines Work

Vaccines work by exposing your child to a small, safe amount of a weakened or dead virus or bacteria. If your child comes in contact with that particular germ in the future, their immune system will recognize it and rally to fight it off. Kids who have received immunizations will either not become sick at all or get a milder form of the illness. Vaccines are a natural way to protect children from infectious diseases.

When Children Should Get Vaccines

New vaccines are developed and introduced every couple of years or so. See current vaccination schedules by age groups, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).