Childhood Immunizations

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.

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

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).

Vaccine Safety
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Smallpox and polio have been wiped out in the United States. Cases of measles, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis) and other life-threatening illnesses have been reduced by more that 95 percent. Immunization against influenza and pneumonia prevent

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

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.

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

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