Important Updates To Vaccine Schedules You Need to Know About

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are continually evaluating the safety of vaccines and regularly update their recommendations to make sure your child is protected.

Here are the 3 latest changes which you need to know about:

HPV

Kids who start the human papillomavirus (HPV) series before their 15th birthday now only need 2 doses of the vaccine instead of three. This means you can skip a trip to the doctor!

Hepatitis B

Babies who are born to moms not infected with hepatitis B should get the first dose of the vaccine within their first 24 hours of life.

Prior to this change, healthy babies received the shot before hospital discharge, which could mean up to a few days.

Flu

The FluMist nasal spray version of the flu vaccine was previously not recommended for children for the 2016–17 flu season because research found it ineffective.

This recommendation now also applies to the 2017–18 flu season.

One of the simplest things parents can do to protect their children from life-threatening illnesses is to make sure they receive all of the recommended immunizations, and on time.

Parents who are diligent with well-child check-ups likely have children who are up-to-date on these vaccinations. But if you’ve had to cancel an appointment, or have skipped a regular vaccine for any reason, your child could be at risk.

Contact your healthcare provider if you believe your child has missed any of his recommendation immunizations, or if you have questions about whether your child should or shouldn’t receive a specific vaccine.