Back-To-School means more than shopping for pencils and backpacks. It also means it is time for your child to get the necessary vaccinations. Doing so not only protects your child from preventable illnesses, it also helps protect your community.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advice that can help students stay healthy during the school year. One of those recommendations includes back-to-school vaccinations.
Some schools will require that parents provide a certificate of immunization on order for their child to attend school. Parents should contact their child’s school and find out what their rules regarding vaccination are. Those rules can be based on, or influenced by, the laws regarding vaccinations where you live.
The CDC recommends the following back-to-school vaccinations:
Children ages 4 through 6 need additional doses of some vaccines, as well as a flu vaccine every year. Parents whose children have fallen behind on their vaccinations should schedule an appointment with their child’s pediatrician. Recommended vaccinations for this age group include: chickenpox; diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis; flu; measles, mumps and rubella; and polio.
The CDC recommends that children who are ages 7 through 10 should continue to get a flu shot every year, by the end of October if possible. Flu is a potentially serious, contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. It can lead to hospitalization and even death. Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated death in children by nearly half, according to a recent CDC study.
The CDC recommends that preteens, children who are ages 11 through 12, receive vaccines that provide protection for childhood vaccines that wear off. This age group should also get the flu vaccine by the end of October every year. Other recommended vaccines include: human papillomavirus (HPV); meningococcal disease; and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
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