Understanding the Immunization Schedule: What Every Parent Should Know

Your child’s immune system is fragile at birth but will build immunity from disease due to vaccinations and other lifestyle factors. If you want a doctor you can trust with potentially life-saving matters, call the Office of Frank R. Baum, M.D., Inc., in Kahului to schedule and learn more about immunizations.

Why Vaccines Matter

Right after birth, your child will receive the first vaccine. Staying on top of your child's immunization schedule is vital to their health and the health of others. By getting a vaccine, your child can prevent contracting serious diseases or at least have less severe reactions if they become infected.

Vaccines protect against potentially debilitating diseases, like Polio, which causes paralysis or loss of muscle control, or Hepatitis, which can cause liver disease. With vaccines, your child will have a better chance at a longer and healthier life.

What Is the Vaccine Schedule?

For vaccines to be successful, they must be given according to a certain schedule. Your doctors use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as a guide on when to give immunizations in Maui, between birth and 18 years old. Luckily, if your child misses some vaccines because they were started late, a catch-up schedule of vaccines is available.

At birth, your child receives the Hepatitis B vaccine. By two, four, and six months of age, they receive Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP), Polio ( IPV), pneumococcal (PCV), influenza type b (Hib), and rotavirus (RV). At the one-year mark, they get the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis A (HepA), and Varicella (Chickenpox). At 15 and 18 months there are booster vaccines for HiB, PCV and DTaP.  Between the ages of 4 and 5, there are more vaccines for DTaP, IPV, MMR, Varicella, and Hepatitis A.

As children transition to adolescence around age 11, it’s time for vaccinations for Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap), Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Meningococcus (MenACWY). The Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine is given at age 16.

Travel may require additions to the vaccine schedule. For example, some countries require inoculation against Yellow Fever. During the pandemic, most countries required documented proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

When you need immunizations, the Office of Frank R. Baum, M.D., Inc., in Kahului, can help you. You may still have questions about the vaccines and which ones your child still needs. The medical staff at Frank R. Baum, M.D., Inc. is always ready and able to explain vaccinations to you and how they can help you and your family. To learn more, call 808-871-7116 to make an appointment today.