Vaccines Are Your Family's Shot at Staying Healthy

Date: 08/03/21

As your children head back to school this fall, make sure getting their vaccinations is at the top of your to-do list. August is National Immunization Awareness Month—making it a key time to ensure you and your family are up to date on all vaccines needed to keep you healthy.

There is a lot of false information regarding vaccines out there. With that in mind, we wanted to share some facts:

• Vaccines work with your child’s natural defenses to help them safely develop protection from diseases.
• Vaccines are tested to ensure they are safe and effective. They are also monitored after they have been administered.
• The immunization schedule is designed to provide immunity early in life—before children are likely to be exposed to serious, potentially life-threatening diseases.
• Some vaccines require more than one dose to provide your child with the best protection. Each recommended dose is important.

Thanks to vaccinations, some diseases are no longer common in our country. But if we stop vaccinating our children, the few cases we have in the United States could very quickly reach numbers in the tens or hundreds of thousands. The 2019 measles outbreaks show how quickly diseases can spread when children aren’t vaccinated.

Being a parent is a busy job, which makes it difficult to remember what vaccines your child needs—and when. To help you, the CDC has created some parent-friendly vaccination charts that tell you what vaccines your child needs from birth to 18 years of age.

• 2021 Recommended Vaccinations for Infants and Children Ages: Birth-6 Years Old
• 2021 Recommended Vaccinations for Children Ages 7-18 Years Old

Remember: It’s important to track your child’s vaccination records as soon as they get his or her first shot after birth. 

You can keep track of your child’s records by:

• Getting a vaccination tracking card from your child’s doctor or from the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).
• Asking your doctor to enter the vaccines your child has received into your state’s immunization information system (IIS). An IIS is a statewide immunization registry doctors use to save and update vaccination records.

Everyone has the power to protect themselves and their family against vaccine-preventable diseases. Even as an adult, you may need to receive a recommended vaccine. Use the CDC’s adult vaccine assessment tool to see which vaccines might be right for you.

For more information about child vaccinations visit LDH’s Immunization Program website.