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Why does my child need to follow the vaccine schedule?

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Sticking to the vaccine schedule helps protect your child against more than a dozen diseases by the time they turn 2 years old, and even more during their teen years.source: 1

  • On-time vaccination saves children’s lives. Vaccines are expected to prevent more than 1 million deaths among children in the United States who were born between 1994 and 2023.source: 2 That is, in part, because more than 90% of kids in the United States are up to date with their routine vaccines by the time they start kindergarten.source: 3 They all have protection against serious diseases.
  • The vaccine schedule helps protect your child from diseases at exactly the right time. Health and medical experts determine when children should get different vaccines based on several factors. These factors include when children are most likely to be exposed to a disease and when the vaccines will work best with their immune systems.source: 4

Key Evidence

  • On-time vaccination helps protect children at ages when diseases are most deadly.source: 4
    • About 1 in 3 babies younger than 12 months old who get whooping cough require hospital care.source: 5 One out of 100 of those babies will die.source: 5 Tdap vaccination during pregnancy, along with on-time whooping cough vaccinations for your child beginning once they are 2 months old, will help protect them when the disease can be particularly harmful.source: 6
    • Measles can be especially dangerous to children under age 5.source: 7 Children should get vaccinated against measles around the time of their first birthday when the vaccine will work best.source: 8,source: 9
  • The schedule helps protect children before they are most likely to be exposed to a disease. For example, HPV is a common infection that can cause cancer.source: 10 A person with HPV can pass the infection to someone even when they have no signs or symptoms. Because exposure to HPV typically begins in teenage years, vaccination is recommended for children ages 11 or 12. Since the vaccine came out in 2006, HPV cases have dropped by 88% among teen girls.source: 11
  • Health experts usually review vaccine recommendations 3 times a year or more. They recommend vaccines that are proven to be safe and effective. Doctors, scientists, and vaccine experts look at:source: 4
    • The safety and effectiveness of each vaccine at certain ages
    • How dangerous and common the disease it prevents is
    • What dose is appropriate for different age groups
    • Timing between doses of a vaccine in a series
    • How vaccines work together to provide protection safely and when your child needs it most
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A Deeper Dive: Why it’s safe for children to get more than one vaccine at a time

Multiple vaccines at once

The vaccine schedule often recommends several vaccines at once and in a relatively short period of time. Some parents worry this is too much for a young child’s immune system. But it helps make sure your child gets the protection they need when they need it.source: 12 Studies confirm this is a safe and healthy thing to do.source: 12,source: 13,source: 14 Children’s immune systems are more than capable of handling multiple vaccines at once. Every day, your child will encounter as many as 6,000 antigens just by being a kid.source: 8,source: 15 Even four vaccines have fewer germs than what a child will encounter in a typical day.source: 12,source: 15

Getting multiple vaccines in a single appointment is also much less stressful for your child. One visit to the doctor is so much easier for them than multiple visits. And getting them vaccinated on time makes sure your child has protection from serious diseases when they need the protection the most.

Medical experts agree on-time vaccination gives children the best chance to grow up healthy

Leading pediatric and other health care organizations agree: the best way to protect children from serious diseases is to follow the vaccine schedule. The following organizations approve the vaccine schedule:

Staying on schedule means keeping your child up to date with all their vaccines and doses. Every dose is needed to give your child the best protection.

Back to the common questions

More information

Still have questions? Talk to your child's doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.

Sources

  1. CDC: Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule by Age
  2. CDC: MMWR: Health and Economic Benefits of Routine Childhood Immunizations in the Era of the Vaccines for Children Program — United States, 1994–2023
  3. CDC: MMWR: Vaccination Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2021–22 School Year
  4. CDC: Who Sets the Immunization Schedule?
  5. CDC: Symptoms of Whooping Cough
  6. CDC: Tdap Vaccination for Pregnant People
  7. CDC: About Measles
  8. American Academy of Pediatrics: Child Immunization Schedule: Why Is It Like That?
  9. CDC: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know
  10. CDC: About Genital HPV Infection
  11. CDC: HPV Vaccination
  12. CDC: Multiple Vaccines at Once
  13. National Academy of Medicine: The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studies
  14. HHS: Vaccines for Infants, Children, and Teens
  15. CDC: About Vaccines for your Children
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