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Bureau of Communicable Disease
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Routine Childhood Vaccines
Our goal is to help families make informed decisions about vaccines by answering common questions with clear, trustworthy information. These answers are designed to validate real concerns and support honest conversations between parents and healthcare providers. We encourage you to talk with your child's doctor about what's best for your family.
This FAQ series was adapted from materials by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist, and informed by data from the CDC and other reputable sources. For those who want more in-depth information, Dr. Jetelina provides supporting studies and resources in her document: Childhood Vaccinations - Top 14 questions answered with the nuance you may be looking for.
Quicklinks
- Recommended Vaccinations for Infants and Children (birth through 6 years)
- Recommended Immunizations for Children 7–18 Years Old
- Catch-up Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents (Consult this if your child has missed any shots.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Vaccines, like any medication, may cause some side effects. Most of these side effects are very minor, like soreness where the shot was given, fussiness, or a low-grade fever. These side effects typically only last a couple of days and are treatable. For example, you can apply a cool, wet washcloth on the sore area to ease discomfort.
Talk with your child’s doctor, but children can usually get vaccinated even if they have a mild illness like a cold, earache, mild fever, or diarrhea. If the doctor says it is okay, your child can still get vaccinated.
Children do not receive any known benefits from following schedules that delay vaccines. Infants and young children who follow immunization schedules that spread out or leave out shots are at risk of developing diseases during the time you delay their shots.
Young children have the highest risk of having a serious case of disease that could cause hospitalization or death. Delaying or spreading out vaccine doses leaves your child unprotected during the time when they need vaccine protection the most. For example, diseases such as Hib or pneumococcus almost always occur in the first 2 years of a baby’s life. And some diseases, like hepatitis B and whooping cough (pertussis), are more serious when babies get them.
Yes, even breastfed babies need to be protected with vaccines at the recommended ages. The immune system is not fully developed at birth, which puts newborns at greater risk for infections.
No, even young children who are cared for at home can be exposed to vaccine preventable diseases, so it’s important for them to get all their vaccines at the recommended ages. Children can catch these illnesses from any number of people or places, including from parents, brothers or sisters, visitors to their home, on playgrounds or even at the grocery store. Regardless of whether your baby is cared for outside the home, your baby comes in contact with people throughout the day, some of whom may have a vaccine-preventable disease.
No. Before entering school, young children can be exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases. Children under age 5 are especially susceptible to diseases because their immune systems have not built up the necessary defenses to fight infection.
Vaccines are recommended throughout our lives to protect against serious diseases. As protection from childhood vaccines wears off, adolescents need vaccines that will extend protection. Adolescents need protection from additional infections as well, before the risk of exposure increases.
Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides your child with the best protection possible. Depending on the vaccine, your child will need more than one dose to build high enough immunity to help prevent disease or to boost immunity that fades over time. Your child may also receive more than one dose to make sure they are protected if they did not get immunity from a first dose, or to protect them against germs that change over time, like flu. Every dose is important because each protects against an infectious disease that can be especially serious for infants and very young children.
Yes. Vaccines are carefully designed to protect children from serious illness, not to cause it. The risks from vaccine-preventable diseases—like brain damage from measles or breathing trouble from whooping cough—are far greater than the minor, short-term side effects of vaccines like a sore arm or mild fever. That's why doctors and scientists overwhelmingly recommend vaccination to protect your child
Diseases like polio or measles are rare in the U.S. because vaccines work—but they still exist in other parts of the world. If we stop vaccinating, these diseases can quickly return. Measles outbreaks still happen in the U.S. when vaccination rates dip, proving how easily these viruses spread when immunity drops.
Vaccines undergo years of research and multi-phase clinical trials before approval. Once approved, they're constantly monitored. If any concerning pattern or rare side effect emerges, health agencies like the CDC and FDA investigate. In rare cases, vaccines are paused or removed. This ongoing safety monitoring is how we know the system works to protect the public.
No. Babies are exposed to thousands of germs daily from eating, crawling, or playing. Vaccines contain a tiny amount of antigens compared to what children encounter naturally. Even when multiple shots are given in one visit, your child's immune system can easily handle it—it's built for this kind of work.
Natural infection can build immunity—but it comes with big risks. Vaccines teach your immune system how to fight disease safely, without the dangers of severe illness. Boosters are sometimes needed because immunity can fade over time, especially as viruses change. They're a safe way to remind the immune system how to protect your child.
In the 1980s, lawsuits almost wiped out vaccine production in the U.S. To keep vaccines available, a federal system was created to handle injury claims. Suppose a vaccine does cause harm (which is very rare). In that case, families can file claims through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. It’s funded by a small fee on each vaccine—not by taxpayers.
Vaccine schedules vary based on local disease risks, health infrastructure, and population health. In the U.S., our schedule is designed to protect kids early—before they're likely to be exposed. It's shaped by years of data and expert input to prevent outbreaks and save lives in our specific setting.
Doctors don't get paid by pharmaceutical companies to give vaccines. Most of the time, they bill insurance for a small administration fee that barely covers their costs. Some pediatric clinics lose money on vaccines because of storage and supply expenses. In rare cases, insurers may offer small incentives for maintaining high vaccine coverage—but these are modest and not a major motivation.
No. Decades of research show no link between vaccines and autism. The idea came from a small, fraudulent study in the 1990s that was retracted and widely discredited. Extensive studies of millions of children worldwide have confirmed there's no connection. Autism starts developing in the womb, long before most vaccines are given.
Babies can't tell us who's high-risk, and many people with hepatitis B don't know they're infected. The virus spreads through blood and bodily fluids—even through tiny amounts—and can survive on surfaces for weeks. If a baby gets infected at birth, there's a 95% chance they'll develop lifelong infection, which can cause liver failure or cancer. The vaccine is a safe, reliable way to prevent that.
No. Studies in animals and humans have found no effect on fertility. In fact, preventing HPV can protect fertility by reducing the need for procedures that treat HPV-related cancers, which can damage reproductive organs. HPV infection itself may even affect male fertility. The vaccine helps prevent these long-term complications.
No vaccine is 100% effective, but they dramatically reduce your child's chances of getting sick—and if your child does get infected, the illness is usually much milder. For example, chickenpox cases have dropped over 97% since the vaccine became routine. Vaccines help your child's immune system build a defense, even if full protection fades with time, which is why some vaccines need boosters.
This number includes every possible yearly flu and COVID shot through age 18 and sometimes counts combination vaccines more than once. In reality, most kids get 28 doses by age two and about 54 by age 18. It may sound like a lot, but each dose helps protect against a serious disease. Without vaccines, children would face much higher risks.
Some people—like those with specific allergies or immune conditions—can't be vaccinated. That's why community immunity (herd immunity) matters. You can still reduce your risk by washing your hands, improving ventilation, and staying home when sick. A healthy diet, sleep, and hydration help the immune system—but they can't replace vaccines. Talk to your doctor about what's safest for your family.
Page last updated: October 8, 2025
