Immunizations - Introduction

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General Guidelines

Routine Childhood Vaccines. Experts recommend that all children be routinely vaccinated against the following diseases:

Measles
Mumps
Rubella (German measles)
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Poliomyelitis (polio)
Varicella (chickenpox)
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis A
H. influenzae type b (a cause of meningitis)
Influenza (children aged 6 months to 18 years)
Pneumococcal disease
Meningococcal disease (recommended for all children ages 11 and up; recommended for high-risk children 2 - 10 years of age).
Rotavirus (children aged 6 - 32 weeks)

Many vaccinations are first given during infancy. Even premature infants can, in most cases, be given vaccinations on a normal schedule. Note: These facts pertain to children in the United States. Children from other countries have not been well studied. Parents who adopt internationally may want to have their children's immunity assessed by a physician. Some evidence suggests that their medical records may not correctly reflect immunization status and that many adopted children, such as those from China, have not had many important vaccinations.

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Common Adolescent and Adult Vaccines. Vaccinations against the following disorders are also recommended routinely for certain adults. More information on these vaccines is discussed in the Specific Vaccinations section:

Influenza (flu) (highly encouraged for all adults)
Pneumococcal pneumonia.
Hepatitis A and B and Meningococcal vaccine.
Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.
Measles, mumps, rubella.
Herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Varicella (chickenpox)

Vaccination Recommendations During Pregnancy

Inactivated-virus and toxoid vaccines are usually safe in pregnant women, although any vaccination should be delayed, if possible, until the second or third trimester. Because of a possible risk to the fetus, live-virus vaccines should not be given to pregnant women or those likely to become pregnant within 28 days unless such women need immediate protection against life-threatening diseases, such as yellow fever, that are only prevented using live-virus vaccines. The live-virus MMR combination, which vaccinates against measles, mumps, and rubella, is not given to pregnant women because of the theoretical risk of the live-rubella vaccine to the fetus.