Vaccinations and Immunizations

When Should My Child Get Vaccines or Immunizations?

Vaccines and immunizations help protect infants, children, teens and adults from diseases that can be serious, and in some cases, deadly. Children usually receive vaccines throughout different stages of their lives.

By the time your child starts kindergarten (age 5 or 6), they will have received:

• Rotavirus vaccine (between birth and 3 months)
• Annual flu vaccinations (starting at 6 months)
• All three hepatitis B vaccinations
• Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (DTaP)
• Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib)
• Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Between ages 6 through 10, your child should visit the doctor once a year for their well-child visit and receive a flu vaccination every flu season.

When your child is 11 to 12 years old, there are four recommended vaccines for preteens. These include:

• Initial Meningococcal conjugate vaccine
• Tdap
• HPV vaccine
• Flu vaccine every flu season

When your child is 16, they will need a second Meningococcal and Meningitis B vaccine.

From ages 13-18, your child should visit the doctor for their annual check-up and get their flu vaccine, as well as any other vaccines they may have missed or that they need if they’re traveling outside the United States.

There are also several other vaccines you might want to consider for your kids or yourself, including vaccines for the flu, chickenpox, hepatitis A, and human papillomavirus (HPV).