Rx for Healthy Kids: Schedule Routine Immunizations
Keeping your child safe and healthy is a multifaceted priority for families, starting with the ride home from the hospital in a properly installed car seat. One of the most effective, lifelong protections families can provide is ensuring that children get all of their vaccinations on schedule.
“Maintaining the recommended vaccination schedule is important, especially for younger children,” says Children’s Hospital Los Angeles pediatrician Mona Patel, MD. “Vaccine-preventable illnesses can arise at any time, and younger children are particularly susceptible, especially babies under 6 months old.”
Developed by Experts
The U.S. childhood immunization schedule is set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on recommendations from a group of medical and public health experts. The schedule is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The recommended schedule is designed to give infants and toddlers a healthy start in life by providing immunity before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough (pertussis), chickenpox, polio, pneumonia, diphtheria and measles—all of which can cause serious illness and even death.
“The timing is aligned with a child’s growing immune system to optimize their well-being,” says Dr. Patel, Chief Integrated Delivery Systems Officer at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and CEO of the CHLA Medical Group.
For all children, maintain an up-to-date immunization record and bring it to doctor’s office visits. (Patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles can view their vaccination record using the MyChildren’sLA Patient Portal.) If you do miss a routine vaccination or fall behind schedule, talk to your child’s doctor. The CDC and AAP have developed schedules to keep your child on track. You can find resources from the CDC at their Immunization Branch website.
