A Shot of Good Health: Why Kids Need Vaccines

As a parent, there’s nothing more important than keeping your kids healthy and thriving. Getting them all the recommended childhood vaccines can help you do that. 

For most of us, getting a shot was a normal part of going to the doctor when we were kids. Vaccines may seem like something that’s just routine at this point, but they can truly be lifesaving. 

Less than 100 years ago, many children died of severe illnesses that are now no longer commonplace in the United States. The development of vaccines helped eliminate many of those diseases. Take polio, for example. 

“Polio is a virus that is very highly contagious,” says Sean Cullen, M.D., PhD, instructor in Pediatrics and Pediatric Scientist Development Program research fellow at Weill Cornell Medicine. “It’s able to enter our brain and spinal cord, also known as our central nervous system, and infect those specific cells, oftentimes with, unfortunately, devastating consequences. Polio vaccine development led to miraculous results. It was developed in the 1950s, and by the late 1970s, polio was eliminated from the United States completely.” 

Other childhood vaccines, including those for measles, diphtheria and whooping cough, have had a similar effect. 

How Vaccines Work 

Vaccines differ in how they’re given—orally or through an injection—and how they work within the body. They all share the basics in common, though.  

“Vaccines use antigens, which are specific parts of various bacteria and viruses that help your immune system recognize those infections and then develop a defense system to fight off those infections in the future,” Dr. Cullen says. “This defense system is something called antibodies, and they’re very specialized proteins that can either help prevent a disease or infection from occurring altogether or reduce the severity of symptoms associated with those infections.” 

While our immune systems are designed to defend the body against illnesses and infections, they build up those defenses over time as you’re exposed to certain germs. Because measles and polio are incredibly potent and dangerous, vaccines were created to teach the body how to protect itself. 

The Why, What and When of Childhood Vaccines 

As vaccines are developed, researchers conduct studies to determine how the vaccines should be dosed, at what age they should be given and whether multiple doses are needed. That information has been grouped together to compile the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) list of Recommended Vaccines by Age. 

“The list of diseases that are preventable with vaccines is a long one, and it’s been growing,” says David Laufgraben, M.D., general pediatrician with Weill Cornell Medicine. “It includes conditions such as chickenpox, diphtheria, H flu, hepatitis A and B, HPV, the regular flu, measles, meningococcal bacteria, mumps, whooping cough, pneumococcus, polio, rotavirus, rubella, shingles, tetanus, yellow fever, and typhoid.”  

What’s needed and when? Check out the details categorized by age: 

Vaccines for Babies 

Newborns receive a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine before even leaving the hospital or within 24 hours of birth.  

At well-baby checkups beginning at 1 to 2 months, the CDC recommends the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), polio, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, along with a second dose of hepatitis B. The RSV vaccine may also be recommended if the mom wasn’t vaccinated during pregnancy. 

At 4 months, babies receive a second dose of the vaccines listed above, except for hepatitis B.  

At 6 months, babies are ready for a third dose of the DTaP and pneumococcal vaccines. Anywhere between 6 months and 18 months, your child should receive third doses of the hepatitis B and polio vaccines. Your pediatrician may also recommend an additional dose of the rotavirus or Hib vaccines, depending on the dosage regimen administered. For instance, if your child receives a three-dose series of the rotavirus vaccine, they would get a third dose. 

The following recommendation applies for every age group: An annual flu vaccine and routine COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for nearly everyone beginning at 6 months. 

Vaccines for Toddlers 

Between ages 1 and 2, your child should receive an initial dose of the chickenpox and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccines, two doses of the hepatitis A vaccine separated by six months and a fourth dose of the DTaP, another dose of Hib and pneumococcal vaccines.  

Vaccines for Elementary-Aged Kids 

Between ages 4 and 6, your child should receive a second dose of the chickenpox and MMR vaccines, a fourth dose of the polio vaccine and a fifth dose of the DTaP vaccine. Children as young as age 9 may also receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. 

Vaccines for Preteens  

The CDC recommends two or three doses of the HPV vaccine and a dose of the meningococcal vaccine to children between ages 11 and 12. Preteens should also receive an initial dose of Tdap, which is a vaccine designed to boost the body’s defenses against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.  

Vaccines for Teens 

At age 16, teens should receive an additional dose of the meningococcal vaccine. In some cases, the meningococcal B vaccine may also be recommended between ages 16 and 18. 

Wrapping Things Up 

Getting your child vaccinated helps protect them from illness, but it also serves a bigger purpose in protecting our entire community.  

“The risk of not receiving a vaccine is a real one,” Dr. Laufgraben says. “Vaccines prevent diseases that are not as common as they used to be because the vaccines are working, but these diseases are still out there. The more people in a group choose not to get vaccinated, it becomes easier and easier for even rare diseases that are contagious to spread because there are fewer people protected from them.”  

Even as your children become adults, they still need routine vaccinations. You do, too. Every person should receive an annual flu vaccine each year, ideally by the end of October, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine as new formulations are released to align with new strains of the coronavirus. Your provider can keep you in the know about other vaccines you should have later in life. 

If protecting yourself and your kids against preventable illness is as simple as a quick prick in the arm, what are you waiting for? Your shot of good health awaits. 

Is your child up to date on their vaccinations? Schedule an appointment with a pediatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine.