Vaccinate Your Baby for Best Protection

"Immunization is one of the best ways parents can protect their babies from 14 serious childhood diseases before age 2.

Immunization is one of the best ways parents can protect their babies from 14 serious childhood diseases before age 2. Vaccinate your child according to the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for safe, proven disease protection.

Diseases that vaccines prevent can be very serious – even deadly – especially for infants and young children. Vaccines work with your baby’s natural defenses to help them safely build immunity to these diseases.

Most parents today have never seen first-hand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases have on a family or community. Some diseases that are prevented by vaccines, like pertussis (whooping cough) and chickenpox, remain common in the United States.

Protect Your Child from Serious Diseases

Measles is an example of the how serious vaccine preventable diseases can be. Cases and outbreaks still occur when the disease is brought into the United States by unvaccinated travelers (Americans or foreign visitors) who get infected when they are in other countries. Measles is still a common disease in many parts of the world. The viral disease is highly contagious and can spread easily when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated. Measles can be serious and can cause pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and even death. Young children are at highest risk for serious complications from measles.

Another example is whopping cough (pertussis). The U.S. has experienced an increase in whooping cough cases and outbreaks reported over the last few decades. Whooping cough can be deadly, especially for young babies who are too young to get their own vaccines. Since 2010, there have been tens of thousands of whooping cough cases reported each year nationwide, with a peak of more than 48,000 cases reported in 2012.

The Diseases Vaccines Prevent

• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza (flu)
• Measles
• Mumps
• Pertussis (Whooping cough)
• Pneumococcal disease
• Polio
• Rubella (German measles)
• Tetanus (lockjaw)
• Rotavirus
• Varicella (chickenpox).."
  Baby Vaccination