Immunizations

Parents, here are Six Reasons to follow your child’s vaccine schedule:

1. Timing 

The immunization schedule is carefully designed to provide protection at just the right time. Like all good babyproofing plans, CDC’s recommended immunization schedule is safe and effective at protecting your baby. It’s based on how your child’s immune system responds to vaccines at various ages, and how likely your baby is to be exposed to a particular disease. This ensures your little one is protected from 14 potentially serious diseases at exactly the right time. On the other hand, there is no data to support that spacing out vaccines offers safe or effective protection from these diseases.

2. Prevent Complications

While babies are born with some immunity, they have not yet built up the necessary defenses against the diseases that vaccines prevent. Young babies are at the highest risk of serious disease complications. For example, for you, whooping cough may mean a lingering cough for several weeks, but it can be very serious—even deadly—for babies less than a year old. If you delay vaccinations, your baby could be exposed to diseases like whooping cough when she is most likely to have serious complications.

3. Early Protection

It can take weeks for a vaccine to help your baby make protective disease-fighting antibodies, and some vaccines require multiple doses to provide the best protection. If you wait until you think your child could be exposed to a serious illness – like when he starts daycare or during a disease outbreak – there may not be enough time for the vaccine to work. That’s why the experts who set the schedule pay such careful attention to timing. They have designed it to provide immunity early in life before children are likely to be exposed to life-threatening diseases.

3. Best Protection

Children won’t have the best protection from 14 serious diseases until they get all the recommended doses of each vaccine.

3. Long-Term Protection

Breastfeeding provides important protection from some infections as your baby’s immune system is developing. However, breast milk does not protect children against all diseases.

3. Spreading Illness

Children who are not vaccinated on the schedule are not only at risk of getting sick themselves, but they can also spread illness to others who aren’t protected, like newborns who are too young for vaccines and people with weakened immune systems. By getting your child’s vaccines on time you’re not only protecting your baby — you’re helping to protect your friends, family, and community, too.

Legend

Range of recommended ages for all children

Range of recommended ages for catch-up immunization

Range of recommended ages for certain high-risk groups

Recommended based on shared clinical decision-making or *can be used in this age group

No recommendation/Not applicable

Birth to 15 Months

18 Months to 18 Years