Vaccinations and Immunizations

Child­hood vac­cines are rou­tine shots that pro­tect chil­dren from seri­ous dis­eases. They are giv­en in the office on a set sched­ule from birth through the teen years, with each vis­it tak­ing just a few min­utes. Most kids have no more than a sore arm or mild fever for a day, and sev­er­al vac­cines can safe­ly be giv­en at once.

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What are child­hood vac­ci­na­tions and immunizations?

Vac­cines are a way to pro­tect kids from seri­ous dis­eases before they are ever exposed. The words vac­ci­na­tion and immu­niza­tion are often used to mean the same thing: a vac­cine is what is giv­en (usu­al­ly a shot, some­times drops or a nasal spray), and immu­niza­tion is the pro­tec­tion the body builds as a result.

Vac­cines work by show­ing the immune sys­tem a harm­less piece or weak­ened ver­sion of a germ. The body learns to rec­og­nize it and builds defens­es, so if a child meets the real germ lat­er, their immune sys­tem can fight it off quick­ly, often before they ever get sick. It is prac­tice for the immune sys­tem, with­out the dan­ger of the actu­al disease.

Why are child­hood vac­cines important?

Vac­cines pro­tect chil­dren from infec­tions that can be seri­ous or even life-threat­en­ing, and many of these dis­eases are rare today pre­cise­ly because vac­cines work. They pro­tect against ill­ness­es like:

• Measles, mumps, and rubella
• Whoop­ing cough (per­tus­sis), diph­the­ria, and tetanus
• Polio
• Chick­en­pox
• Seri­ous infec­tions from Hib and pneu­mo­coc­cal bac­te­ria, which can cause menin­gi­tis and pneumonia
• Hepati­tis A and B
• HPV, which can cause sev­er­al can­cers lat­er in life

Vac­ci­nat­ing also pro­tects oth­ers. When most chil­dren in a com­mu­ni­ty are immu­nized, it is hard­er for dis­eases to spread, which shields babies too young to be vac­ci­nat­ed and peo­ple who can­not be. Up-to-date vac­cines are also required for school and many activities.

What vac­cines does my child need, and when?

Chil­dren get vac­cines on a rec­om­mend­ed sched­ule that starts at birth and con­tin­ues through the teen years, timed to pro­tect them when they are most vul­ner­a­ble. Duly pedi­a­tri­cians fol­low the cur­rent sched­ule from the CDC and Amer­i­can Acad­e­my of Pedi­atrics. They will tell you exact­ly what your child needs at each vis­it. Here is a gen­er­al overview of what vac­cines pro­tect against at dif­fer­ent ages:

Some vac­cines are rou­tine for all chil­dren, while oth­ers depend on age, health con­di­tions, and the lat­est guid­ance, which is why it is a con­ver­sa­tion with your pedi­a­tri­cian. If your child has fall­en behind, there is no need to start over; a catch-up plan can get them back on track.

What hap­pens at a vac­cine visit?

Get­ting vac­cines is quick and usu­al­ly hap­pens dur­ing rou­tine well-child check­ups. Here is what to expect:

• A provider reviews your child’s his­to­ry and which vac­cines are due
• A nurse or med­ical assis­tant gives the vac­cine, usu­al­ly a quick shot in the arm or thigh (infants often get them in the thigh)
• Your child may get more than one vac­cine at the same vis­it, which is safe and means few­er trips
• The whole thing takes just a few min­utes, and you may be asked to wait a short time after­ward in case of an imme­di­ate reaction

If need­ed, you will get a record of what was giv­en, which is handy for school and day­care forms. Com­bi­na­tion shots can reduce the num­ber of pokes.

Are child­hood vac­cines safe?

Yes. Vac­cines are among the most stud­ied and close­ly mon­i­tored med­ical prod­ucts, test­ed in large tri­als before approval and tracked con­tin­u­ous­ly for safe­ty after­ward. For most chil­dren, the ben­e­fits of pre­vent­ing seri­ous dis­ease far out­weigh the small risk of side effects, which are usu­al­ly mild.

It is also worth address­ing a com­mon wor­ry direct­ly: vac­cines do not cause autism. This has been stud­ied exten­sive­ly in large, care­ful stud­ies, and no link has been found. If you have ques­tions or con­cerns, your pedi­a­tri­cian is there to talk them through, with­out judg­ment, and to help you make deci­sions for your child.

What are the com­mon side effects?

Most side effects are mild and short-lived, a sign the body is build­ing pro­tec­tion. They may include:

• A low fever
• Red­ness, sore­ness, or swelling around the injec­tion site
• Fussi­ness, tired­ness, or a small­er appetite for a day or so

These usu­al­ly pass with­in a day or two, and seri­ous reac­tions are rare. A few things help your child feel better:

• A cool, damp cloth on a sore spot
• Extra flu­ids and rest
• Aceta­minophen or ibupro­fen for dis­com­fort if your pedi­a­tri­cian okays it, dosed by age and weight (nev­er aspirin)
• Extra cud­dles and dis­trac­tion for lit­tle ones

When should I call the doctor?

Most reac­tions are mild and need noth­ing more than com­fort. Call your pedi­a­tri­cian if your child has a fever that is high or lasts more than a day or two, seems very uncom­fort­able, or you are sim­ply not sure, which is always okay.

When to get emer­gency care

Severe aller­gic reac­tions to vac­cines are very rare, but they are an emer­gency. Call 911 if, soon after a vac­cine, your child has any of these:

Fre­quent­ly asked questions

Is it safe for my child to get sev­er­al vac­cines at once?

Yes. Get­ting more than one vac­cine at a vis­it is safe and well-stud­ied. A child’s immune sys­tem han­dles many germs every day, and com­bined vac­cines mean few­er vis­its and less dis­com­fort. Spac­ing them out does not make them safer and can leave a child unpro­tect­ed longer. Your pedi­a­tri­cian will let you know what is due.

What if my child is behind on vaccines?

There is no need to start over. A pedi­a­tri­cian can set up a catch-up sched­ule that safe­ly gets your child up to date, often com­bin­ing vac­cines to lim­it vis­its. Falling behind is com­mon after a move, a missed appoint­ment, or an ill­ness, and it is easy to fix. Ask your pedi­a­tri­cian for a catch-up plan.

Do vac­cines cause autism?

No. Many large, high-qual­i­ty stud­ies have looked for a link between vac­cines and autism and found none, and the orig­i­nal claim has been thor­ough­ly dis­cred­it­ed. Vac­cines are con­tin­u­ous­ly mon­i­tored for safe­ty, and pedi­a­tri­cians are glad to dis­cuss any con­cerns you have.

Does my child need a flu shot every year?

Yes, a year­ly flu vac­cine is rec­om­mend­ed for near­ly every­one 6 months and old­er, includ­ing chil­dren. Flu virus­es change each year, so the vac­cine is updat­ed to match, and year­ly pro­tec­tion low­ers the chance of get­ting sick or seri­ous­ly ill. It is an easy add to a fall checkup.

Where can my child get vac­ci­nat­ed in Chicagoland?

Duly Health and Care pedi­a­tri­cians across the Chica­go sub­urbs pro­vide child­hood vac­cines as part of well-child vis­its, keep your child’s records, and can com­plete school and day­care forms. You can book a well-child or vac­cine vis­it online and ask any ques­tions about the schedule.

Care at Duly Health and Care

Vac­cines are one of the sim­plest, most effec­tive ways to pro­tect your child’s health, and they fit right into the reg­u­lar rhythm of well-child care. Duly pedi­a­tri­cians keep track of what your child needs and when, give vac­cines dur­ing rou­tine vis­its, answer your ques­tions with­out judg­ment, and main­tain the records you need for school and activ­i­ties. If your child is behind, they will set up a catch-up plan.

With pedi­atric care across the Chica­go sub­urbs, plus easy online sched­ul­ing, keep­ing your child pro­tect­ed is simple.

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Med­ical­ly reviewed by Alli­son Crouch­er, DO · Last reviewed June 2026