Protect Your Baby with Immunization

Immunization is one of the best ways parents can protect their infants from 14 serious childhood diseases before age 2. Vaccinate your child according to the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for safe, proven disease protection.

It is important for children to be fully immunized. Diseases that can be prevented with vaccines can be very serious—even deadly—especially for infants and young children. Immunizations have helped to greatly improve the health of children in the United States. Most parents today have never seen first-hand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases have on a family or community. Although most of these diseases are not common in the United States, they persist around the world. It is important that we continue to protect our children with vaccines because outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases can and do still occur in this country.

Immunization Quick Links

• Recommended Immunizations for Children Birth through 6 Years Old [321 KB]
• How Vaccines Prevent Disease
• Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
• Vaccines for School and Childcare
• Vaccine Information for Parents – Homepage

Protect Your Child from Serious Diseases

One example of the seriousness of vaccine-preventable diseases is the increase in whooping cough (pertussis) cases and outbreaks reported over the last few decades. More than 15,000 cases of whooping cough were reported to CDC during 2016 and this number is expected to increase as case counts are finalized. Whooping cough can be deadly, especially for young babies who are too young to be protected by their own vaccination. Since 2010, we see between 10,000 and 50,000 cases each year in the United States and up to 20 babies dying. One recent study showed that many whooping cough deaths among babies could be prevented if all babies received the first dose on time at 2 months old, when they are old enough to get vaccinated.

Measles cases and outbreaks continue to occur in the U.S. Measles spreads easily, and it can be serious, causing pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and even death. Young children are at highest risk for serious complications from measles. Measles is still common in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Measles is brought into the United States by unvaccinated U.S. residents and visitors who get infected when they are in other countries. Measles can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated.

Learn more about measles.

Vaccinating your baby according to the recommended immunization schedule gives him the best protection against 14 serious childhood illnesses—like measles and whooping cough—before he is 2 years old. The recommended schedule is designed to protect infants and children early in life, when they are most vulnerable and before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.

The recommended immunization schedule for babies includes vaccination protection against all of the following diseases:

The Diseases Vaccines Prevent

• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Diphtheria
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Measles
• Mumps
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Pneumococcal disease
• Polio
• Rubella (German measles)
• Tetanus (lockjaw)
• Rotavirus
• Varicella (chickenpox)

Vaccinate On Time, Every Time

Visit CDC’s vaccine website for parents.

Even though the United States experiences outbreaks of some vaccine-preventable diseases, the spread of disease usually slows or stops because most people are vaccinated or protected through immunity against the disease. If we stopped vaccinating, even the few cases we have in this country could very quickly become tens or hundreds of thousands of cases.

Fortunately, most parents choose to vaccinate their children and immunization rates in this country are at or near record high levels. In fact, less than 1 percent of children do not receive any vaccines. However, some children have not received all of their vaccines and therefore are not fully immunized. It’s important that children receive all doses of the vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule. Not receiving all doses of a vaccine leaves a child vulnerable to catching serious diseases.

That’s why it’s important to make sure that your child is up to date on his immunizations. Call your pediatrician to find out if your child is due for any vaccinations.

Paying for Immunization

Most health insurance plans cover the cost of vaccinations, but you should check with your insurance provider before going to the doctor. If you don’t have health insurance, your child may be eligible for vaccines through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.

The VFC Program helps families of eligible children who might not otherwise have access to recommended childhood vaccines. This federal program provides vaccines for eligible children at no cost for the vaccine itself, although an administration fee may apply. These fees help providers cover the costs of giving the vaccines, including storing the vaccines and paying staff members to give vaccines to patients.

Children younger than 19 years of age are eligible for VFC vaccines if they are:

• Medicaid-eligible
• Uninsured
• American Indian or Alaska Native

A child that meets one or more of the above eligibility requirements is eligible to receive VFC vaccine from a provider enrolled in the VFC program. VFC vaccines cannot be denied to an eligible child if the family can’t afford to pay the administration fee.

Have Questions about Immunization?

• Talk with your child’s health care professional, contact your local or state health department, or call the CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
• Visit CDC’s vaccine website for parents.