Childhood Immunizations

Do I Have To Vaccinate My Child?
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations
by Stephanie Cave, M.D., F. A.A.F.P., Deborah Mitchell
This question is being asked more and more often by parents as they hear and read about the association between vaccines and various serious health conditions. Although there are no federal mandates that force parents to have their children vaccinated

An Infant's Immune System
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations
by Stephanie Cave, M.D., F. A.A.F.P., Deborah Mitchell
Infants come into the world with antibodies they have gotten from their mother through the placenta. Infants who are breastfed continue to receive many important antibodies in the colostrum; the thick, yellowish premilk that is secreted during the first

Childhood Immunization Benefits and Risks
by Health Canada
Vaccines are a safe and effective way to give children immunity against a number of potentially serious diseases. Babies are born with a certain amount of natural protection against disease, which comes in the form of antibodies they get from their mother

Thimerosal-free Vaccines
by CDC
Today, with the exception of some influenza vaccine, none of the vaccines used to protect preschool children against 12 infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative.

Kids' Vaccinations : MMR, Chickenpox
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles). Measles is a highly contagious disease that causes high fever, cough, and a spotty rash. Possible complications include ear infections and pneumonia as well.

Kids' Vaccinations : DTP, Hepatitis B, Polio
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The DTP shot is a combination inoculation against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. It is given at 2, 4, 6, and 15 to 18 months of age, with a booster between 4 and 6 years. Diphtheria is an infection of the throat, mouth and nose.

Multiple Vaccines and the Immune System
by CDC
Currently, CDC recommends vaccination against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. Because some of these vaccines have to be administered more than once, a child may receive up to 23 shots by the time he or she is 2 years of age.

MMR Vaccine and Autism
by CDC
At a glance: The weight of currently available scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. We recognize there is considerable public interest in this issue, and therefore support additional research regarding

Vaccine Safety: Six Common Misconceptions
by CDC
Most parents today have never seen a case of diphtheria, measles, or other once-common diseases now preventable by vaccines. As a result, some parents wonder why their children must receive shots for diseases that don't seem to exist.

Vaccines and Autism Link?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
There is no link between autism and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine or the vaccine preservative thimerosal, according to a report released by the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee.

Kids' Vaccinations : Vaccines and the Law
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
For children, the vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective and can be administered at the same time as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. (The MMR vaccine is given at 12 to 15 months and again between 4 and 6 years or before junior high

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccination
by CDC
The age at which infants begin their primary course of vaccinations (2 to 4 months old) is also the peak age for the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The similar timing of these two events has led some people to believe that the events

Is there a connection between vaccines and ASD?
by CDC
At a glance: The weight of currently available scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. We recognize there is considerable public interest in this issue, and therefore support additional research regarding

Vaccine Safety : Process, Concerns
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
There have been other recent policy changes to improve vaccine safety, including ACIP's 1999 recommendation to change from the use of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to the inactivated polio virus (IPV).

Pneumococcal Vaccine
by Health Canada
A new pneumococcal vaccine has been licensed for use in Canada for children. Pneumococcal disease is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae. There are more than 90 different types of pneumococcal bacteria; however, only a few types account

Vaccine Safety : Reactions
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Before a vaccine is put into standard medical practice, it must be studied in clinical trials of thousands of people, which allows for evaluation of relatively common side effects. For example, a common side effect might occur in one or more of several

Kids' Vaccinations Easier
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Combination vaccines are making it simpler for babies to be fully immunized against nine serious diseases. Yet, on the average, from 37 to 56 percent of U.S. children are not fully immunized by age 2, and in a few localities, the figure may be as high

Why Immunize?
by CDC
Why immunize our children? Sometimes we are confused by the messages in the media. First we are assured that, thanks to vaccines, some diseases are almost gone from the U.S. But we are also warned to immunize our children, ourselves as adults

Vaccine Shortages : Possible Solutions, What's New With the Flu?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Vaccination was recommended for susceptible children ages 5 to12, especially those entering school, and adolescents age 11 or 12. People not vaccinated until age 13 or older should get two doses, four to eight weeks apart.

Vaccine Shortages
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Recent vaccine shortages have frustrated parents and doctors alike. The good news is that serious shortages of several vaccines appear to be over. There are many reasons for the shortages.