Keeping Your Child on a Vaccine Schedule

While no one likes getting needles they are an important part of keeping your child or teenager healthy. There are so many life-threatening and serious conditions that could affect your child’s health if they don’t get the proper vaccinations. Fortunately, seeing your Meadows Medical Center pediatrician regularly will ensure that your child is up to date on all of their immunizations shots. Here is the vaccination schedule you should follow.

Birth

After your baby is born they will usually come in for their first visit within the first 24 hours after being discharged from the hospital. During this time they should receive the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine.

1-2 months old

At this point your child should receive the second round of their Hepatitis B vaccine.

2 and 4 months old

Two and four months are important ages for your little one because they will require several different vaccines including:

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTap)
H. influenza type b (Hib)
Polio (IPV)
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)
Rotavirus (RV)

6 months old

This is about the time that your child will get the third dose of DTap, Hib, PCV, and RV. You should also consider getting your child vaccinated every year for the flu.

6-18 months

During this time your child will get the last dose of the Hepatitis b vaccine, as well as the second half of the polio vaccine.

12-15 months old

Now is the time to get your child vaccinated for chickenpox. They will also get the final round of the Hib vaccine, as well as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and the third round of the PCV vaccine.

12-23 months

During this period your little one will receive the Hepatitis A vaccine. This vaccine comes in two parts, which will be given about 6 months apart or more from each other.

15-18 months

The only vaccine your child will need during this time is DTap.

4-6 years

This is another important stretch for your child as they will need to get the DTap, MMR, IPV and varicella vaccines during this period of time.

11-12 years

Beside the DTaP and meningococcal vaccinations, it’s also a good idea to talk to your child’s Meadows Medical Center doctor about whether they should be vaccinated for HPV. This vaccine can protect teenage boys and girls from genital warts and certain forms of cancer.

16-18 years

Your teen will need to get the meningococcal B vaccine (which comes in either two or three doses). This immunization isn’t always necessary so your pediatrician will tell you whether your child should get it.

Do you have questions about your child’s vaccinations? Do you need to schedule your child or teen’s next doctor’s appointment? Turn to a Meadows Medical Center pediatrician you can trust to get the best care possible time and time again. Vaccines are a surefire way to keep your children healthy as they continue to grow.