When to Get Your Child Vaccinated

Welcome to our guide to Back-to-School Success: 31 days of tips, apps, recipes, and more to help you make this your family's best school year yet. Today, day 21, is all about keeping your kids healthy throughout the year.

For years, members of the anti-vaccination movement assumed that antigen exposure led to autism development in children. But now that researchers have cleared up that common misconception, doctors' offices should be filled with children ready to receive their vaccinations. That being said, many parents are still unsure which vaccines their children need to receive and when they should get them. If you're in that grouip, scroll down to see how old your children should be when you schedule all their shots.

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The following vaccination chart is based on the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for children from birth to 18 years old:

Vaccine Number of Doses Age Range
Hepatitis B Four Birth, 1 to 2 months, 6 to 15 months, and 18 months
Rotavirus Three 2 months, 4 months, 6 months
Whooping Cough Two 2 months to 6 years, and 11 years
Measles Two 12 to 15 months and 4 to 6 years
Chicken Pox One 12 to 18 months
Tetanus Five 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, and 4 to 6 years
HPV Three 11 to 12 years
Meningitis Two 11 to 12 years and 16 to 18 years
Flu Annually 6 months and older

If your children are behind on their shots, make sure they catch up before heading back to school.