Parents are often confused by the pediatric immunization schedule and when you are looking for the best quality medical care Houston has to offer for your children, this should be your priority to safeguard your children from various diseases. In the first few years, children require quite a few vaccines to function as a productive member of the society. All of these vaccines need to be administered at a schedule and within a very specific period. The reason for such an emphasis on back-to-school vaccines by the medical professionals is due to the fact that young children are more prone to infection-causing microbes. Parents need to keep a close eye on the vaccine schedule and the recommended timeline to ensure that their kids are always protected.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release a schedule for recommended immunization for children that medical health care professionals that provide the best quality medical care Houston has to offer, follow. This schedule can be used not only to track the administration of vaccines at the right time, but also to keep the children’s vaccine record up-to-date when they start to return to school after a vacation.
Back-To-School Vaccines
Most vaccines are essential because they will not only safeguard your child, but will also protect other children in the vicinity from contracting a diseases or a virus. If a large group of kids are unvaccinated, then they have a major chance of contracting a resurfaced illness that can also cause hazardous effects to the general population. Here are the vaccines that you need to administer before your kids can go back to school.
Before your child reaches the age of one, he/she must receive:
- Four doses of Prevnar®, which is a pneumococcal vaccine
- Three doses of Hib and RotaTeq®, to protect against Haemophilus Influenzae, Pneumonia, Meningitis, Rotavirus and Epiglottitis
- Three doses of hepatitis B and DTaP, to safeguard against diptheria, tetanus, and pertussis/whooping cough
- One dose of hepatitis A, to protect against chicken pox
- MMR to combat measles, mumps, and rubella
- Two doses of the polio vaccine
Between the ages of 1-2, children should also be given the following additional vaccines:
- Hib to prevent serious infections caused by bacteria
- Inactivated poliovirus and oral poliovirus vaccine
- Hepatitis A vaccine to prevent highly infectious liver infections
When your child reaches the age of four, a booster dose should be administered or an additional dose of similar vaccines that they received when they were one year old, which are:
- DTaP
- MMR
- Polio
- Varicella
When your child reaches the age of eleven, the following vaccines should be administered:
- TDap, which is a booster dose of DTaP and is designed for older children and adults
- Meningococcal vaccine, that protects against Neisseria meningitidis
- HPV, most commonly known as the “Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine” (Gardasil), is a three-part series. It’s important for older children as it protects them from cervical, penile, vaginal and vulvar cancer.
In addition to that, adolescents at the age of 16 should receive a booster or additional dose of the meningococcal vaccine.
