4 to 6 Years

By following the recommended schedule and fully immunizing your child on time, you helped protect your child against 14 vaccine preventable diseases. If your child missed a vaccine, now is a good time for your child to catch-up. During this time, your child will also receive additional vaccine doses needed for the best protection.

Between 4 through 6 years of age, your child should visit the doctor once a year for check-ups. During this time, your child receives the following vaccines:

• Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (pertussis) (DTaP)
• Polio (IPV)
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
• Chickenpox (Varicella)
• Influenza (flu) every year

Get tips to prepare yourself and child for your well-child visit.

Record your child's vaccines, growth, and developmental milestones using the Well Child Visit Tracker [2 pages]. Learn more about developmental milestones At Learn the Signs. Act Early.

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Vaccines before School

As you help your kids get ready for school, make sure they're fully vaccinated. Typically, your child needs a certificate of immunization to enroll in a new school. Your doctor’s office or health clinic should be able to give you a record of your child’s immunizations. You can also ask if your doctor has recorded the vaccines your child has received in your state's immunization registry.

Your state may also require children entering school to be vaccinated against certain diseases, such as whooping cough (pertussis). If you're unsure of your state's school requirements, check with your child's doctor, your child's school, or your health department.

Making sure that children of all ages receive all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things parents can do to ensure their children's long-term health ― as well as the health of friends, classmates, and others in the community.

Get tips on how to keep and find your child's vaccine records.

Find out your state vaccination requirements for childcare and schools.

Find out what vaccines your child needs and when with the Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old [2 pages].

Multiple Doses Are Needed for Best Protection

Between 4 and 6 years, it is important that your child will receive additional doses of vaccines to keep them protected. These booster doses of the vaccines they received earlier in life help them maintain the best protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Every dose of a vaccine is important because they all protect against infectious diseases that are threats today and can be especially serious for infants and very young children.

Read about the benefits of combination vaccines [2 pages].

Read about the benefits of simultaneous and combination vaccines.

Learn more about how vaccines work to help the body build immunity.

Find out what vaccines your child needs and when with the Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old [2 pages].

Missed Vaccinations

If your child has missed any shots, work with your child's doctor or health clinic to get back on track; there's no need to start over. CDC has a online tool that can help you create a personalized schedule to follow so you can correctly "catch up" with the recommended childhood vaccination schedule.

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