FAQs About Vaccinations in Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX
Vaccinations are vital for keeping children healthy and safe from many infectious diseases. Vaccines enable your child to develop immunity to a wide range of illnesses, many of which can be debilitating or life-threatening. Immunity protects your child. At Oak Cliff Children’s Clinic in Dallas, TX, we follow the vaccination guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our skilled pediatric physician, Dr. Kanase, can help you ensure your child is up to date with vaccinations.
Types of Vaccines
The American Academy of Pediatrics has outlined their recommended vaccination schedules for children from birth through age six years, as well as for youth between the ages of seven and 18 years. Additionally, there is a catch-up schedule for children who begin vaccinations late or have fallen more than one month behind the recommended schedule.
From birth through six years of age, children receive multiple doses of certain vaccines over the course of several months. The majority of doses required during this time are typically completed by the time a child is 18 months old, with just one additional dose of a few vaccines needed between four and six years of age. For children who have remained on schedule with their vaccines, no more should be needed until adolescence. Children of all ages can benefit from receiving influenza vaccines every year.
Why Vaccination is Important
One of the most important reasons for having your children vaccinated is to protect them from contracting certain diseases, some of which can be deadly. Children who have been vaccinated against certain illnesses are immune from developing those diseases. Some of the serious diseases vaccination can protect your child against include:
- Polio
- Mumps
- Measles
- Chickenpox
- Hepatitis A & B
- Whooping cough
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Meningococcal (meningitis)
In addition to protecting your own children, vaccines also help protect other kids who cannot be vaccinated. Children with weak or compromised immune systems due to certain medical conditions cannot be vaccinated, which means those kids are not able to build immunity to many diseases. For example, youth undergoing chemotherapy have weakened immune systems and cannot be vaccinated. They can still be protected, though, since children who have been vaccinated will not expose unvaccinated kids to certain diseases.
Vaccines have undergone years of rigorous medical and scientific testing and are a safe and effective way to protect your child against
many serious diseases.