Child Immunizations Specialist

Yes. Although we don't see some diseases often, they can still be as deadly as other diseases that are preventable by vaccination. Before the widespread use of vaccines:

• Estimated hundreds and thousands of people die each year from measles.
• In the 1920s, diphtheria killed over 10,000 people a year.
• In the 1940s and 1950s, thousands of kids died from polio.

More common illnesses can be severe. Before vaccination was available, chickenpox hospitalized 12,000 people and killed about 100 each year. Kids all over the world suffer from diarrhea caused by Rotavirus. In the United States, children under the age of 5 are infected, resulting in 250,000 hospitalizations annually.

Yes, they are safe. However, it can sometimes cause mild reactions, like a sore arm or a mild fever. It is rare to have a serious reaction, but it can happen. Before giving you a vaccine, your doctor or nurse will discuss these issues with you. If you want to get a vaccine, you have to decide what risk you are willing to accept. Since the risks of these diseases are significant and vaccines rarely have serious side effects, we believe that choosing to vaccinate is typically the safer option.

A person's body produces antibodies in response to infection. Antibodies fight the disease and aid in recovery. A person's body contains antibodies long after a disease has been treated, and they prevent infection from recurring. We refer to this as immunity.

Vaccines prepare the immune system of your child to fight a disease without actually inflicting it on them. As a child gets vaccinated, their body makes antibodies to protect them against the disease. If they are to ever be exposed to the disease, the antibodies will recognize and fight the infection.

In the first few weeks after birth, your baby will need multiple vaccinations. Several shots are often given in one visit since they often need immunizations early on. As a result, a baby's immune system is delicate yet strong, like an eggshell. Strong as it can handle many immunizations at the same time. However, delicate and fragile since vaccines may give them side effects. Here are a couple of things you need to remember:

• The likelihood of infection from diseases the vaccine prevents is higher in infants and toddlers than in older children.
• Immunizing babies sooner rather than later is better for their health.
• A baby's immune system only has a small capacity to make antibodies.
• A baby can receive many vaccines at one time without overstressing the system.
• Vaccines strengthen the immune system.

There are two types of vaccines: live (but weakened) and killed (inactivated). In most cases, live vaccines provide lifetime protection after only one or two doses. The immunity built from killed vaccines requires several doses. Certain vaccinations need to be repeated later in life (and sometimes even throughout life) to maintain their effectiveness. At birth, children should receive their first shot (hepatitis B). In addition, they should receive more shots with every well-child visit, up to six at a time. The recommended immunization schedule for children ages 0-6 and 7-18 (and for adults 19 and older) is available here.