So that's for children entering elementary school - kindergarten through fifth grade.
Starting at 11 years old, kids going into middle school, they're also going to need:
Most of the vaccines do take some time to take effect. I would say for the most part, give it about two weeks before the vaccines really work.
And why these particular immunizations?
These are immunizations that we've had for a while. And they have been shown to decrease the rates of these illnesses, some which can be very, very severe, some which can be lethal.
You may have heard, but there have been several outbreaks of measles now because of a lot of our children are not vaccinated against measles.
But the vaccines we've chosen, we feel are important to protect not only our children and schools but also other family members at home, teachers at school, and their families.
There are certain children that have medical conditions that they cannot receive certain vaccines. So, this also helps to protect those children who may not be able to get all the vaccines.
So, it's not just about protecting yourself?
Our goal is what we callherd immunity, where if enough people are vaccinated against these diseases, then we really don't see them.
Do the vaccines prevent you from getting the disease?
The vaccines increase your, protection against getting the diseases. It is still possible, though very rare, to still get one of these illnesses after having had vaccines.
Do you ever suggest vaccines to patients that aren't on the list for any reason?
Yes. Most pediatricians also recommend the flu vaccine every year. It is not one of the required vaccines, but it is an illness that we feel that vaccine helps to protect. It's one of those vaccines that even if you get the vaccine, it is still possible to get the disease, but you're much less likely to have complications, severe illness, hospitalizations and death.
We also recommend our COVID vaccines for older kids. We are recommending the human papillomavirus vaccine as well.
So given all that, why not include this in the list required to enroll in school?
Flu vaccine? I'm not sure why it's not required. I feel it's a very important vaccine. I vaccinate my daughters every year for it. Of course, as a health care worker, I have to get it every year. And that is a requirement. So I feel very strongly that the flu vaccine is, highly, highly recommended.
We have a lot of hesitancy with COVID, and I think I can understand that because it is a new vaccine. And it was, approved more and much more quickly than, the other vaccines. So, I do know that there is a lot of, hesitancy there. And I don't know that that will ever become a required vaccine. But again, I get my COVID vaccines and I make sure that my children get their COVID vaccines as well.
Parents can get vaccines exemptions for vaccines for their child?
Yes, they can. And unfortunately, we have been seeing, higher numbers now of unvaccinated children. This doesn't help us to get herd immunity. So, unfortunately that is happening, but, I'm hoping that any patients that have questions or concerns feel comfortable coming to their pediatrician and talking to them about what concerns they have with which vaccines. I mean, hopefully with time, we can see that we feel that vaccines are safe and effective.
What are parents telling you if you've had those conversations with any of them?
Most of the time it's hard to get a discreet answer as to why they're concerned. They just tell me that they don't trust vaccines. So, I tell them to make sure that they do their research and that the research they do are. Sources. And to not use social media where there can be a lot of misinformation as their sources.
