Children's Immunizations

During the first months of a baby’s life, they are the most vulnerable to serious illness and disease. Like you, Buckeye wants to do everything we can to help keep them healthy. Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention some germs cause serious or even deadly diseases a baby can’t handle. For those, babies need the help of vaccines.

Talk to your child’s doctor about the vaccines your child needs before their second birthday. Or, look at the CDC’s vaccination schedule. These may include:

• DTaP: Protects your child from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Diphtheria can cause severe complications like heart failure, pneumonia and paralysis. Tetanus can lead to dangerous muscle contractions and breathing issues. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease, especially dangerous for infants under 1 year old.
• MMR: Protects your child from measles, mumps, and rubella. Measles can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, brain damage, seizures, and even death. Mumps can cause meningitis, swollen ovaries or testicles, deafness and occasionally death. Rubella usually has mild effects but can cause serious birth defects if contracted during pregnancy.
• HepA: Protects your child from hepatitis A, a viral infection that damages the liver and is spread through contaminated food, water, or close contact with an infected person.
• HepB: Protects your child from hepatitis B, a virus that can cause anything from mild illness to serious, lifelong liver disease and even death.
• MCV4: Protects your child from four types of meningococcal bacteria, which can cause bacterial meningitis, bloodstream infections, pneumonia, ear infections, and arthritis. In severe cases, it can lead to brain damage, hearing loss, limb amputation, or death.
• Meningococcal B: Protects your child from Type B meningococcus, which causes the same serious diseases as MCV4, including bacterial meningitis, bloodstream infections, pneumonia, ear infections and arthritis.
• IPV: Protects your child from polio, a viral infection that can lead to breathing issues, paralysis and death.
• Rotavirus: Immunizes your child against rotavirus, which causes vomiting and severe diarrhea, often leading to serious dehydration and hospitalization.
• Varicella: Protects your child from chickenpox, a highly contagious viral infection with an itchy rash and blisters. While many experience mild symptoms, others may develop serious complications like brain infection and pneumonia.
• PCV13: Immunizes your child against pneumococcal bacteria, which causes diseases such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, meningitis, sinusitis and ear infections.

As your child enters preschool and kindergarten they are exposed to thousands of germs daily. Vaccines are their best defense against illness and help build the body’s immune system to fight germs. The Ohio Department of Health recommends children receive certain vaccinations before starting Kindergarten. However, Ohio's youngest school children remain under-vaccinated this year, which continues the trend since the pandemic. Make sure your child is covered. Full protection typically takes a few weeks to occur after vaccination, but it can last a lifetime.

Protect children from serious illness by keeping their vaccinations up to date, including:

• Varicella: Protects your child from chickenpox, a highly contagious viral infection with an itchy rash and blisters. While many experience mild symptoms, others may develop serious complications like brain infection and pneumonia.
• DTaP: Protects your child from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). Diphtheria can cause severe complications like heart failure, pneumonia and paralysis. Tetanus can lead to dangerous muscle contractions and breathing issues. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease.
• IPV: Protects your child from polio, a viral infection that can lead to breathing issues, paralysis and death.
• MMR: Protects your child from measles, mumps and rubella. Measles can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, brain damage, seizures and even death. Mumps can cause meningitis, swollen ovaries or testicles, deafness and occasionally death.