Vaccination
What You Need to Know
Vaccinations help protect children from serious diseases. Vaccines are the best way to keep you prevented from diseases. As an infant and toddler, your child may have received a number of recommended vaccinations as advised by your child's doctor. Your child may also have received vaccinations before entering preschool or kindergarten.
The vaccinations recommended for children ages 4 to 6 years include the final doses of four vaccines started earlier in life:
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The childhood diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (also known as DTaP)
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The inactivated poliovirus vaccine (or IPV)
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The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR)
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The varicella vaccine (which can help protect against chicken pox)
But did you know that protection against some diseases wears off as children enter the preteen and teen years?
One vaccination that wears off is DTaP, given during infancy and early childhood to help protect against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Health experts recommend that adolescents 11 to 18 years of age who completed the childhood diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccination series receive the Tdap booster shot for continued protection against these diseases. The preferred age for the Tdap shot is 11 to 12 years. The booster shot "boosts" the protection of the vaccinations the adolescents received when they were younger.
Whooping cough is a serious disease that spreads easily. Outbreaks often start in middle and high schools where students are in close contact with one another. One study showed that preteens and teens with whooping cough miss an average of more than one week of school due to the disease. In addition, preteens and teens are often the source of infection for infants who have not yet received all their shots for whooping cough. In rare cases, infants can die from the disease.
To help prevent your child from catching whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases, make sure your child gets the recommended shots for his or her age group. In addition to getting scheduled shots, your child may need to catch up on missed shots or shots that were not available when he or she was younger. Your child's health-care provider or school nurse can provide information on the vaccinations your child may need, as well as on the diseases the vaccinations protect against.
What You Can Do
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Talk to your child’s health-care provider and the school nurse about the recommended and required shots for your child.
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Take your child to the doctor for a checkup.
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Make sure your child is up-to-date on the recommended shots for his or her age group.
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Keep a record of the shots your child gets and the dates he or she gets them.
Where You Can Go
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American Academy of Family Physicians
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American Academy of Pediatrics
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
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National Association of School Nurses
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