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Children's Health Children's Diseases and Conditions

What You Should Know About Childhood Immunizations

Summary & Participants

What you don't know about immunizations could hurt your child.

Medically Reviewed On: August 12, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DR. BENARD DREYER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS SPOKESPERSON: We’ve not eradicated the diseases; we’re just controlling them by immunizing children. So if we stopped immunizing, enough people stopped immunizing their children, we would see these diseases come back

ANNOUNCER: But when it comes to your child’s shots, what should they be getting?

DR. BENARD DREYER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS SPOKESPERSON: In the first year of life there are a number of immunizations that are very important, including immunizations for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, there are immunizations for two germs that cause meningitis and serious infections. One is for haemophilus, and the other one is for pneumococcus. And then, at about a year of age or 15 months of age, children get a triple vaccine for measles, mumps and German measles, or rubella. That’s equally important. Another very important vaccine that children get in their first year of life is for hepatitis b

ANNOUNCER: And what about a flu vaccine?

DR. BENARD DREYER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS SPOKESPERSON: Starting at six months of age, we recommend that each year kids get influenza vaccine to protect them from the flu, because flu causes a lot of serious illness in young children, and all young children over six months of age should be getting flu vaccine every winter, starting October, November.

ANNOUNCER: Dr. Dreyer says immunizations are essential to children’s’ future good health

DR. BENARD DREYER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS SPOKESPERSON: Because we’ve been so successful with immunizations, most parents are not familiar with any of the diseases we’re preventing, because they’re now being prevented. But they wouldn’t stay prevented if we stopped immunizing children.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily!