What School Inoculations Does Your Child Need Before Kindergarten?
Posted on: 30 December 2019
School inoculations and vaccinations can protect you and your family. If your child is ready to start school, what immunizations do they need? Take a look at the vaccines and boosters your almost-kindergartner will need before their first day of classes.
Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
The mumps, measles, and rubella (or MMR) vaccine protects your child against three highly contagious diseases. By the time your child is ready to start kindergarten, they should have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine.
Provided that your child won't travel abroad before they turn 1, the first dose is given between 12 and 15 months. Infants who will travel outside of the country will need this dose between 6 and 11 months of age.
Your child will get a second dose of the vaccine between 4 and 6 years old. Most public schools require this dose before the child starts kindergarten. If your child hasn't gotten their second MMR shot, talk to the doctor about the vaccination as soon as possible. Your child's school will need proof of both immunizations before they begin classes.
Chickenpox Virus
Gone are the days when children built immunity to this virus by having the disease itself. Instead of suffering through days of itchy red bumps, children get two doses of the vaccine. Like the MMR vaccine, your child will also need the chickenpox immunization at 12 to 15 months of age and between 4 and 6 years.
If your child wasn't immunized and had the virus, the school may ask for proof of immunity before your child starts kindergarten.
Polio Virus
Your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have had to contend with this highly infection virus during their own childhoods. The polio virus invades the brain and spinal cord and can lead to paralysis. While the United States has eliminated the disease thanks to vaccinations, it is still alive and well in other countries around the globe.
Children need four vaccinations to provide effective immunization against the polio virus. The first is given to infants at 2 months of age. Your child got the second immunization at 4 months, the third at s6 ix through 18 months, and the fourth between 4 and 6 years.
Like with other vaccinations, you'll need to provide proof of all four immunizations before your child starts school.
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis
The diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine provides protection against all three diseases. Your child will start the series at 2 months. They'll also need vaccinations at 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, and 4 through 6 years.
Again, the MMR, chickenpox, polio, and DTaP school inoculations will all require proof of vaccination. Save your child's records or ask the pediatrician to provide a full list that you can bring to kindergarten enrollment.
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