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Vaccinations to Protect Your Baby
Part of being a good parent is making sure that your baby has regular doctor visits and gets all the necessary shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all babies receive the following vaccinations:
- Hepatitis B
- Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DtaP)
- Haemophilus influenzae Type b (Hib)
- Inactivated polio (IPV)
- Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
- Varicella (chickenpox)
- Pneumococcal (PCV)
- Influenza (flu)
- Hepatitis A
- Rotavirus
- Meningococcal
Because health care providers often use abbreviations, the list above includes the full name of some vaccinations as well as the abbreviation.
Risks and Side Effects
The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. When vaccinated, children are protected against very serious, even life-threatening diseases.
Most side effects are not serious. Some vaccines result in low-grade fever, rash or soreness at the injection site.
In rare cases, a child may have a serious allergic reaction to a vaccine. Signs of such a reaction include difficulty breathing, wheezing, hives, dizziness, fainting, an erratic heartbeat and weakness. This kind of reaction happens within a few minutes or a few hours after the shot. Call your health care provider right away if your child has any of these symptoms.
In very rare cases, a vaccination can cause a high fever or a seizure within a few days after the child has received the shot. Call your health care provider or go to an emergency facility right away if your child has either of these symptoms.
If you are concerned about the risks of vaccination, ask your health care provider for more information.
Vaccination Schedule
For a schedule of when your baby should be vaccinated, see the chart provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diseases Prevented
- Diphtheria: Causes a thick coating in the nose, throat and airway. It can lead to breathing problems, heart failure, paralysis or even death.
- Haemophilus influenzae Type b: Causes meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord), pneumonia and other infections. It can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. Hib vaccine prevents Haemophilus influenzae Type b. Note that this disease is not the illness commonly known as the flu.
- Hepatitis B: Causes long-term chronic illness. It can lead to chronic liver disease or cancer.
- Influenza (the flu): Causes fever (usually high), muscle aches, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and, less commonly, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Can be severe in young children. Can cause complications like pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections. Rarely causes death.
- Measles: Causes rash, cough and fever. It can lead to diarrhea, ear infection, pneumonia, brain damage or even death.
- Mumps: Causes fever, headache and swollen glands around the jaw. It can lead to hearing loss; painful, swollen testicles; or meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord).
- Pertussis, also called whooping cough: Causes coughing and choking for several weeks. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage or even death.
- Pneumococcus: Causes pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections and some ear infections. It can lead to permanent brain damage or even death.
- Polio: Causes fever, sore throat, nausea, headache, diarrhea, stomachache, and stiffness in the neck, back and legs. It can lead to breathing difficulty, paralysis or even death.
- Rubella, also called German measles: Causes rash, mild fever, swollen glands and arthritis. Rubella can cause pregnant women to lose their babies or have babies with birth defects such as deafness, blindness, heart disease and brain damage.
- Tetanus, also called lockjaw: Causes serious, painful spasms of all muscles. It can lead to “locking” of the jaw so that patient cannot open the mouth or swallow. Some patients with tetanus die.
- Varicella, also called chickenpox: Causes fever, itchy blisters and sometimes more serious illness. It can be complicated by bacterial infections of the skin and lungs.
- Hepatitis A: Causes fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes). Can lead to serious liver conditions and illness that can last, or come and go, for up to six months.
- Rotavirus: Causes watery diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. Nausea and fever usually go away in about two days, but diarrhea can last up to seven days. Antibiotics are not effective against the rotavirus infection.
- Meningococcal: Causes high fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting. The disease can be life-threatening. Can lead to deafness and neurological problems.
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