Vaccinations

Vaccinations For Children

The most safe and effective way to protect yourself, your children and your community against certain viruses is through vaccination. Vaccinations for children can help prepare them for a long and healthy life. In fact, every year, vaccinations prevent up to 3 million fatalities from vaccine-preventable diseases throughout the world.

Vaccines help strengthen your child’s immune system against harmful diseases and prevent their spread to others. Vaccines can train weakened immune systems to make antibodies that fight illnesses. It’s far safer for your immune system to learn this way rather than by acquiring full-fledged diseases and trying to treat them. After your immune system has learned how to combat a disease, it can then keep you safe for years to come. Immunization practices are an important, proven and effective strategy for disease control and prevention.

Children must be vaccinated to attend most schools or daycares. We provide your child’s required vaccinations and track medical information to ensure he or she stays on schedule with them.

Immunization and Vaccination Schedule for Children

A vaccination schedule details when babies and children should get certain vaccines and combination vaccines. It is critical to follow these schedules so that your child can build up their immune system and prevent serious illness. Vaccines teach your body to recognize and fight germs in a controlled setting.

Initial vaccination can begin shortly after birth, or as recommended by the child’s healthcare provider. Experts recommend a variety of vaccinations and immunizations during the first few years of your child’s life to prevent a variety of diseases including Hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease, whooping cough, measles, mumps, and rubella. Starting at six months of age, your child should receive the flu vaccine during the fall every year. When your child is due for a flu vaccine, keep in mind that the flu strain is different every season, as is the flu vaccine. We recommend that you follow the provided vaccine schedule provided by the CDC.

Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth Through 6 Years Old

Recommended Immunizations for Children 7-18 Years Old

What Should I Do If My Child Is Behind on Their Vaccination Schedule?

You are not required to figure out which vaccines your child needs on your own if they are missing vaccinations. Making an appointment with their pediatrician is a great first step if you need help staying on track for your child’s vaccines.

The appointment will give the doctor a chance to examine your child’s vaccination record and make suggestions about any that are past their due date. They’ll probably be able to catch up on their shots in one session, even if they’re missing a few different vaccines.

Many vaccines must be given at various intervals ranging from a few months to a few years apart. Childhood vaccines like the hepatitis B vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, rotavirus vaccine, tetanus vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, and influenza vaccine are just a few examples of this. If a child has not received all of these vaccinations on schedule, they will need another appointment with the pediatrician to catch up with the vaccine schedule.

COVID-19 Vaccines for Children: What You Need to Know

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now advises that children ages 6 months and older should receive the COVID-19 vaccination. VNA Health Care urges all families to have their eligible children vaccinated against COVID-19.

Parents should be aware that children can pass the coronavirus to others even if they have no symptoms, as has been seen in adults. COVID-19 vaccination can protect the child and others by preventing them from spreading the virus to people who may be more at risk of a severe reaction, such as family members and friends.

Vaccines are just one of several topics you’ll discuss with your child’s doctor or nurse practitioner during their wellness visit. The objective of those visits is to prevent illness in any form in your child. Our pediatric healthcare providers will also discuss the child’s overall well-being – emotional and physical – in addition to vaccines. Book an appointment today!

Vaccines for Adults

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, immunizations are not just for children. Protection from some childhood vaccines can wear off over time. You may also be at risk for vaccine-preventable disease due to your age, job, lifestyle, travel, or health conditions.

All adults need immunizations to help prevent them from contracting and spreading serious diseases that could result in poor health, missed work, medical bills, and not being able to care for family.

CDC Recommended Vaccinations For All Adults

• All adults need a seasonal flu (influenza) vaccine every year. Flu vaccine is especially important for people with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, and older adults.
• Every adult should get a Tdap vaccine once if they did not receive it as an adolescent to protect against pertussis (whooping cough), and then a Td (tetanus, diphtheria) or Tdap booster shot every 10 years. In addition, women should get the Tdap vaccine each time they are pregnant, preferably at 27 through 36 weeks.
• The CDC recommends that adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Adults 19 years and older who have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy should also get two doses of Shingrix, as they have a higher risk of getting shingles and related complications.

Visit the CDC website to learn what other vaccines you may need as an adult dependent on your circumstances: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html.