Your baby’s vaccinations

What are vaccinations and why does your baby need them?

Vaccines give you immunity to certain diseases. If you have immunity against a disease, you have protection against that disease.

You may wonder why your baby needs vaccinations for diseases that you’ve never heard of. You may not know anyone who’s ever had a disease like polio or diphtheria. Many diseases that vaccinations help prevent once infected and killed many children in this country. Because of vaccinations, most people in this country don’t get these diseases anymore. Vaccinations help protect your baby from diseases and help prevent spreading diseases to others.

What vaccinations does your baby need?

In the first 2 years of life, your baby gets several vaccinations to help protect them from diseases. Our vaccination schedule shows each vaccination your baby gets up to 6 years. It shows how many doses your baby gets of each vaccine and when. It’s based on the schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (also called CDC). The CDC has done a lot of research to make sure vaccination schedules are safe for children.

This is a typical vaccination schedule through age 6. Your child's health care provider may use a different one. All children need vaccinations for their own health and so they don't spread infection to others. Doses are listed by month. If a dose covers more than 1 month on the schedule, ask your baby's provider when your baby gets that dose.

If your baby's vaccinations were delayed because of COVID-19, contact their health care provider as soon as possible to get back on schedule.

Notes:

Hib: Ask your provider if your baby needs a dose at 6 months.

RV: Ask your provider if your baby needs a 3rd dose.

Flu: Children age 6 months through 8 years of age need two doses of the flu vaccine, if they are getting the flu vaccine for the first time. The two doses need to be 4 weeks apart.

MMR: If you will be traveling out of the country, ask your provider if your baby needs to get the MMR vaccine before your trip.

Hep A: If you will be traveling out of the country, ask your provider if your baby needs to get the Hep A vaccine before your trip.

Does your baby need the COVID-19 vaccine?

Coronavirus disease 2019, also called COVID-19, is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that the COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for emergency use can be used in people ages 6 months and older to prevent COVID-19.

The COVID-19 vaccine is not recommended for babies under 6 months of age at this time. Some research has shown that pregnant people who get the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can pass immunity (antibodies) to their babies during pregnancy and while nursing. More research is needed in this area.

What diseases do vaccinations help prevent?

Vaccinations help protect your baby from these diseases:

• Flu (also called influenza). The flu is a serious disease that can cause fever, chills, cough, sore throat, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea.
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (also called Hib). This disease is caused by bacteria. It can cause meningitis, pneumonia, other infections and death. Bacteria are tiny organisms that live in and around your body. Some bacteria are good for your body, and others can make you sick.  Children less than 2 years of age are more likely to get this infection.
• Hepatitis A and B. These are liver infections caused by hepatitis A and B viruses.
• Measles, mumps and rubella (also called German measles).
  • Measles is a disease that’s easily spread and may cause rash, cough and fever.
  • Mumps can cause fever, headache and swollen glands in the face and neck.
  • Rubella is an infection that may cause mild flu-like symptoms and a rash.
• Pneumococcal disease. This disease is caused by pneumococcus, a kind of bacteria. Pneumococcus can cause many kinds of infections, like ear and sinus infections, pneumonia, meningitis and bacteremia. Ear infections can affect different parts of the ear and can cause fluid buildup and pain. Sinus infections can happen when fluid builds up in the sinuses. Sinuses are hollow air spaces within the bones around the nose. Pneumonia is an infection in one or both lungs. Meningitis is an infection that causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord. Bacteremia is a blood infection.
• Polio. This disease is caused by a virus. It can infect the brain and spinal cord and cause paralysis (when you can’t move one or more parts of your body) and even death.
• Rotavirus. This infection is caused by a virus. It can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and belly pain. It can lead to dehydration (when you don’t have enough water in your body).
• Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
  • Tetanus is an infection that affects your nerves and muscles and can be transmitted in cuts if a person is not vaccinated.
  • Diphtheria is an infection that can cause sore throat, fever, weakness and trouble breathing.
  • Pertussis (also called whooping cough) is an infection that spreads easily and is dangerous for a baby.
• Varicella (also called chickenpox). This infection spreads easily and causes itchy skin, rash and fever, and is very contagious from person to person, even without direct contact.

Who needs to follow a different vaccination schedule?

Your provider may recommend a different vaccination schedule if your baby is at risk of getting certain diseases or is off-schedule. For example, your baby may need a different schedule if:

• Your baby has health conditions like HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), sickle cell disease, heart disease and certain cancers.  
• Your baby is traveling outside the United States. Some diseases are more common in other parts of the world than in the U.S., so check with your baby’s provider if your baby is traveling outside this country.
• There’s a disease outbreak. An outbreak is the sudden start or increase of a disease at a certain time and place. If you live in an area where there’s a measles outbreak, ask your baby’s provider about what vaccination schedule your baby needs to follow.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people missed their vaccination appointments. If your baby’s vaccinations were delayed because of COVID-19, contact their health care provider as soon as possible to get back on schedule.

All babies, including babies who spend time in the newborn intensive care unit (also called NICU), need vaccinations. Preterm and low-birthweight babies follow the same CDC vaccination schedule. Preterm babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Low-birthweight babies weigh less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces at birth. Vaccinations are important for preterm babies because they have a higher risk of problems from diseases than babies born on time. The only vaccination that may be delayed in preterm babies is for hepatitis B. Most newborns get this vaccination within 24 hours of birth. If your baby doesn’t weigh enough or isn’t stable (healthy enough), they may get this vaccination later. If it’s delayed for your baby, ask your baby’s provider when your baby will get it.

Talk to your baby’s health care provider to learn more about vaccinations.

Do vaccinations have risks or side effects?

Like any medicine, vaccinations can cause side effects. Most of the time, side effects from vaccinations are mild, go away on their own and last only a few days. Most side effects are a good sign that your baby’s immune system is building up protection against the disease they were vaccinated against. Your baby’s immune system helps protect them from infection.

Ask your baby’s provider about possible side effects of vaccinations, including:  

• Fussiness
• Low fever
• Redness, swelling or soreness at the spot where your baby got the shot

Severe allergic reactions to vaccines are rare. An allergic reaction (such as a rash or trouble breathing) is a reaction to something that enters your body. About 1 in 1 million doses of vaccines causes a severe allergic reaction. A severe allergic reaction happens within minutes or a few hours of the vaccination. If your baby has signs of a severe allergic reaction or a reaction that you think is an emergency, call 911. Signs of a severe allergic reaction include:

• Breathing problems
• Swelling of the throat and face
• Hives. These are red bumps on your skin that sometimes itch.
• Fever, sleepiness and not wanting to eat (in babies)
• Weakness, dizziness and fast heartbeat (in older children)

For almost all children, the benefits of getting vaccinated are greater than the side effects they may have. This may not be true for children who have had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, who have a weakened immune system or a severe illness, such as cancer. If you’re worried about the risks of vaccinations to your baby, talk to your baby’s provider,

Do vaccinations cause autism?

No. Vaccinations do not cause autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder is a group of developmental disabilities that can cause major social, communication and behavioral challenges.

Why does your baby need the same vaccination more than once?

To get the best protection from disease, your baby needs all the recommended doses of each vaccine.

• For some vaccinations, your baby needs more than one dose to build up enough immunity to protect them from disease. Immunity is the body’s protection from disease.
• For other vaccinations, immunity decreases over time, so your child needs another dose to boost immunity.  An example is the measles vaccine which needs to be given again in adolescence to protect your child.
• Some vaccinations help protect your child against germs that are always changing, like the flu. This is why your child needs a flu shot every year.

Can getting more than one vaccination at a time harm your baby?

During a well-baby visit, your baby may get more than one vaccination — more than one shot. You may worry that too many shots at once may be too much for your baby. The recommended vaccinations have been tested together and are safe for your baby to get at the same time.

More information

• For parents: Vaccines for your children
• Parent’s Guide to Childhood Immunizations
• Why Does My Child Need to be Immunized? 
• Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

See also: Vaccinations and pregnancy

Last reviewed August 2021