Administered from infancy through the teenage years and beyond, vaccinations provide protection from a range of communicable diseases. Immunization with vaccines can prevent your child from developing illnesses like measles, polio, and chicken pox. If whole communities are vaccinated, diseases can even be completely eliminated, as polio has now been in the United States.
At Dr. Soos Pediatrics, we can answer all your questions about the childhood vaccination schedule. Gyula Soos, MD, FAAP, and the team at Dr. Soos Pediatrics provide a full range of pediatric care services to patients from the Dublin, Georgia area.
A child’s immune system needs to develop responses to a variety of pathogens. Your child’s immune system grows naturally. With vaccination, we can help the process along, training your child’s antibodies to react to the germs that cause different serious communicable diseases.
Before vaccination, your child remains vulnerable to communicable diseases. Some diseases, like the measles, can be potentially very harmful for babies and young children, and spread easily from person to person via germs. That’s why it’s so important to immunize children to specific pathogens on a medically developed schedule.
The childhood vaccination schedule recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lets pediatricians like Dr. Soos precisely time your child’s immunizations to safely support future healthy immune development.
Some vaccines are given from birth to 18 months of age. These are:
After the first two years, your child needs a declining number and frequency of vaccinations. At three years old, your child should be vaccinated for Varicella (chicken pox), with Kinrix and MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccinations at four years. After another round of vaccines at age 11, your child won’t need vaccines or boosters again until the teens.
You can also get yearly flu shots for children starting at six months of age.
Dr. Soos takes the time to make sure your child’s vaccinations stay up to date at regular checkup appointments. Your child’s regular pediatric appointments give Dr. Soos multiple opportunities to provide missed vaccinations or catch your child up on the vaccine schedule.
Childhood vaccination protects your child from diseases and contributes to the health of your whole community. If your child needs to get caught up on vaccinations, Dr. Soos can work with you to determine a customized schedule to get your child protected as soon as possible.
If you want to check and make sure that your child’s vaccinations are up to date this spring, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Dr. Soos. You can schedule an appointment over the phone, or book online today.
