Vaccines for Children: List By Age, Benefits, Safety - Verywell Health
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Vaccines protect babies and children from potentially life-threatening diseases at a time when they're most vulnerable. In fact, widespread childhood vaccination has reduced or eliminated deadly diseases like polio and smallpox.
By following the recommended immunization schedule for your child, you can protect them and those around them from avoidable health risks.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that kids receive vaccines against 16 preventable diseases.
Here's an overview of the current recommended immunization schedule for children, from birth to 18 years old.
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How Vaccines Work
Vaccines work with the body's natural immune system to produce a protective response to harmful antigens (viruses or bacteria). Vaccines trigger your body to produce antibodies against the disease before you're ever exposed to it. They can also prevent reinfection.
Common Vaccines for Children
- Inactivated vaccines: These contain a dead version of the virus they protect against. They aren't quite as strong as live vaccines, so your child may need booster shots to maintain immunity.
- Live-attenuated vaccines: These vaccines contain a weakened, harmless version of an antigen. They're usually more powerful than inactivated vaccines and can provide lifetime protection against conditions like smallpox, measles, mumps, and rubella.
- Recombinant vaccines: These vaccines behave like a natural infection, using the proteins of a virus to activate the body's immune response. Examples include the hepatitis B vaccine and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines: These vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, make proteins that trigger an immune response by showing the body a "blueprint" for fighting the virus.
There are several ways that your baby or child might receive a vaccine. The main ways vaccines for children are administered are:
School Requirements
The CDC doesn't regulate vaccine requirements for schools or childcare centers in America. Instead, each state sets its own rules regarding school immunization requirements. Check your state laws to find out which vaccines your child is required to get before attending school.
Outside of medical exemptions, there are two other types of possible vaccine exemptions: religious exemptions and philosophical exemptions based on personal beliefs.
Different Types of Vaccines for Children
The following are the most common immunizations for children in the U.S. and the diseases they prevent:
- Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine: Hepatitis B is a viral infection that can affect the liver, sometimes resulting in liver failure or cancer of the liver. The HepB vaccine is given in three doses, with the first just after birth.
- Rotavirus (RV) vaccine: Babies can get two-dose series at 2 and 4 months, or a three-dose series at 2, 4, and 6 months to protect against rotavirus infection, which can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, and fever.
- DTap and Tdap vaccines: The DTap vaccine protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). The Tdap vaccine is a recommended booster shot against the same infections.
- Haemophilus influenza (Hib) conjugate vaccine: The Hib vaccine prevents Hib infection. Hib infection can cause several serious complications, including meningitis and pneumonia.
- Pneumococcal (PCV13) vaccine: Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae and can lead to meningitis, pneumonia, or sepsis.
- Poliovirus (IPV) vaccine: The polio vaccine protects children against the highly contagious poliovirus. Polio used to affect thousands of children per year, causing paralysis or even death.
- Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine: Hepatitis A is a viral liver infection that can cause fever, jaundice (a yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the skin), and severe dehydration.
- MMR vaccine: The MMR vaccine protects children against three formerly common childhood diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella.
- Varicella (VAR) vaccine: The VAR vaccine prevents chickenpox and is given in two doses, starting at 12 months of age.
- Meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY and MenB): The meningococcal vaccine protects against bacterial meningitis, which can be especially risky for teens and young adults living in close quarters (such as at camp or college).
- Influenza vaccine: The annual flu vaccine protects against the influenza virus. There are six different types of flu vaccines for school-aged kids.
- HPV vaccine: The HPV vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes some strains of cervical cancer and anal cancer.
Child Vaccine Schedule at a Glance
The annual vaccine schedule is set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is part of the CDC. The list of vaccines for children by age is updated every year with input from medical experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and several other organizations.
Here's a list of the currently recommended vaccines for children from birth to 18 years old.
| Vaccine Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vaccine | Doses | Age |
| HepB | 3 | Birth, 1–2 months, 6–18 months |
| RV | 2–3 | 2 and 4 months or 2, 4, and 6 months |
| DTaP | 5 | 2, 4, 6, and 15–18 months; 4–6 years |
| Hib | 3–4 | 2, 4, 6, and 12-15 months, or 2, 4, and 12-15 months |
| PCV13 | 4 | 2, 4, 6–18 months and 12–15 months |
| IPV | 4 | 2, 4, and 6–18 months; 4–6 years |
| Influenza | Annually | 6 months and older |
| MMR | 2 | 12–15 months, 4–6 years |
| VAR | 2 | 12–15 months, 4–6 years |
| HepA | 2 | 12 and 18–23 months |
| Tdap | 1 | 11–12 years |
| HPV | 2–3 | 11–12 years, but can start at 9 years; 2-dose series if started at 9–14 years, 3–dose series if started at 15 years or older |
| MenACWY | 2–3 | 11–12 years, 16 years |
Vaccine Hesitancy for Parents
The anti-vaccination movement has led some parents to worry about vaccinating their children. Efforts by people who don't believe in vaccinations have already resulted in unexpected outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases, such as measles.
Some parents are worried that vaccines for children haven't gone through enough testing. Others are concerned about potential side effects or vaccine reactions.
However, vaccines are generally safe and effective. Your child's best protection against many common but preventable diseases is to follow the recommended immunization schedule.
Vaccine Safety
- Vaccines are effective and lifesaving. Vaccine-preventable diseases can still appear in the U.S. at any time, and immunization protects your child if they're exposed.
- Alternative vaccine schedules aren't approved by any medical association in the U.S. There's no evidence that a different schedule is necessary or that vaccines "overburden" a child's immune system.
As always, speak with your child's pediatrician about any concerns you might have, especially if your child is immunocompromised, has had an organ transplant, or has any severe allergies or preexisting conditions.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in kids ages 5–11. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is delivered with a smaller needle and one-third of the adult dosage.
Teens ages 12–17 are eligible to receive the same dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine as adults.
Efficacy of the Covid-19 Vaccine for Kids
In a study of around 3,100 children, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be safe and 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19.
Summary
Vaccines are one of the most important ways that parents can protect their children from life-threatening diseases. Babies get the hepatitis B vaccine just after birth. If you follow the recommended immunization schedule, your children will be protected from 16 vaccine-preventable diseases by the time they turn 18.
If your child misses a shot, don't worry. Just ask their healthcare provider to continue the series at your next visit.
A Word From Verywell
Vaccines currently prevent around 2 million to 3 million deaths per year.
They protect children and vulnerable loved ones, like their grandparents, immunocompromised classmates and relatives, and siblings who are too young to get vaccinated, from preventable, life-threatening diseases.
By following the recommended immunization schedule, you can protect both your child's health and the health of those around them.
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