Most parents choose immunization because nothing protects babies better from 14 serious childhood diseases. Choose immunization; it’s the powerful defense that’s safe, proven, and effective.

Raising a child means you’d do anything to help them grow up healthy and safe. You watch them as they explore new places and baby proof your home against potential hazards. But, what about the hazards you can’t see that can cause serious illness, disability, or even death in young children? Immunization gives you the power to protect your baby from 14 serious childhood diseases. No matter what parenting challenges come your way, there are many reasons to vaccinate.

Serious Diseases Are Still Out There

Vaccines are one of the top public health achievements of the past decade because they have reduced or even eliminated many diseases. Thanks to vaccines, most young parents have never seen the devastating effects diseases like polio, measles, or whooping cough (pertussis) can have on a child, family, or community. It’s easy to think these are diseases of the past, but they still exist. Children in the United States can—and do—still get some of these diseases. In fact, when vaccination rates are low in a community, it’s not uncommon to have an outbreak.

Diseases Don’t Stop at the Border, and Many Can Spread Easily

You may have never seen a case of polio or diphtheria, but these diseases still occur in other countries. For example, measles is rare in the United States because of vaccination, but it is still common around the world. Unvaccinated travelers who are infected while abroad can easily bring the diseases to the United States.

After reaching the U.S., measles can spread quickly among unvaccinated people. In 2014, the United States had a record number of measles cases and many were associated with cases brought from the Philippines, which experienced a large measles outbreak. Most of these people were not vaccinated or didn’t know if they were vaccinated and nearly all the cases were associated with international travel. From January 1 to May 20, 2017, 100 people from 10 states were reported to have measles. The majority of people who got measles were unvaccinated.

Vaccines are the Safe, Proven Choice

The United States currently has the safest vaccine supply in its history. Before a vaccine is approved and given to children, it is tested extensively. Scientists and medical professionals carefully evaluate all the available information about the vaccine to determine its safety and effectiveness. As new information and science become available, vaccine recommendations are updated.

Although your child may experience some discomfort or tenderness at the injection site, this is minor compared to the serious complications that can result from the diseases these vaccines prevent. Serious side effects from vaccines are very rare. Learn ways to make you and your child’s shot visit less stressful.

Nearly all children can be safely vaccinated, but there are exceptions and some children may not be able to receive some vaccines:

• Children with allergies to something in a vaccine.
• Children with weakened immune systems due to an illness or a medical treatment, such as chemotherapy.

Children Need Protection Early

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sets the U.S. childhood immunization schedule based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a group of medical and public health experts. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also approve this schedule. The recommended childhood immunization schedule is designed to protect infants and children early in life, when they are most vulnerable.

To be fully immunized, children need all doses of all vaccines in the recommended schedule. If your child does not receive the full number of doses they are vulnerable to serious diseases. Check with your child’s doctor to find out if your baby is due for any vaccinations. You can use this online tool to enter your child’s current record and quickly see if any doses have been skipped or missed. It is important to your child’s health to be up-to-date on immunizations. If you are unsure which vaccines your child needs at any age, you can find out what they need by taking this short quiz.

Vaccines Mean Fewer Missed Work Days and School Days

If your child gets a vaccine-preventable disease, they may have to miss school or day care for many days or weeks. Time lost from work to care for a sick child can burden your family financially. Many vaccine-preventable diseases can also cause lasting disabilities that result in expensive medical bills and long-term care.

Vaccination Protects Your Family, Friends, and Community

Getting your child vaccinated helps protect others in your community—like your neighbor who has cancer and cannot get certain vaccines, or your best friend’s newborn baby who is too young to be fully immunized. When everyone in a community who can get vaccinated does get vaccinated, it prevents the spread of disease and can slow or stop an outbreak. Choosing to protect your child with vaccines is a choice to protect your family, friends, and neighbors, too.

Immunization Helps Give You the Power to Protect Your Baby

For more reasons to vaccinate, talk with your child’s doctor, call 800-CDC-INFO, or visit CDC’s vaccine website for parents.

If you have questions about the childhood immunization schedule, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse. For more information about vaccines, go to http://dph.georgia.gov/immunization-section.

Helpful Links

• Children Vaccine Schedule
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Vaccine information
• GNR Health Vaccine Recommendations

Immunization saves millions of lives and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Yet, there are more than 19 million unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children in the world, putting them at serious risk of these potentially fatal diseases. Of these children, 1 out of 10 never receive any vaccinations, and most likely have never been seen by the health system.

World Immunization Week – celebrated in the last week of April – aims to highlight the collective action needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunization prevents illness, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases including cervical cancer, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhea, rubella, and tetanus.  For example, the measles vaccination has resulted in an 84% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2016 worldwide. Additionally, polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988.  Today, only three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan) remain polio-endemic, down from more than 125 in 1988.

When people ensure that their families and communities are protected with vaccines, we are all protected together.

Visit our immunization pages to find out what vaccines are offered at your local health department: children, adults and travel.

To learn more about World Immunization Week, visit the World Health Organization website.

What would you rather face, a shot that lasts a second or a disease that lasts a lot longer?

In an effort to protect every adult and child, the Georgia Department of Public Health established Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week, observed March 12-16, 2018, to serve as a reminder for parents to talk with their preteens and teens about getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Preteens are at an age where they are becoming more aware of their health decisions. They know they should go to the doctor and get vaccinated, yet many times they just don’t go — and parents don’t see it as a priority,” said Sheila Lovett, Immunization Program Director for the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Parents, make it a priority to vaccinate your preteen against preventable diseases.”

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health Rule (511-2-2), all students born on or after January 1, 2002, entering or transferring into seventh grade and any “new entrant” into eighth -12th grades in Georgia need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster vaccination (called “Tdap”) AND an adolescent meningococcal vaccination (MenACWY). This law affects all public and private schools including, but not limited to, charter schools, community schools, juvenile court schools and other alternative school settings (excluding homeschool).

Vaccines are the best defense we have against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. They help avoid expensive therapies and hospitalization needed to treat infectious diseases like influenza and meningitis. Immunizations also reduce absences both at school and after school activities and decrease the spread of illness at home, school and the community.

The CDC currently recommends the following vaccines for preteens and teens:

• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)
• Influenza (flu)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Meningococcal Disease (MenACWY)

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness through schools, health care providers and the media regarding preteen immunizations, particularly Georgia’s pertussis and meningococcal requirements for incoming seventh-grade students. Speak with your physician today to find out if your preteen is up-to-date.

Helpful Links

Georgia Department of Public Health Immunizations 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Vaccines For Your Children

GNR Health Child Immunizations