By: Mundeep Kainth, DO, MPH, FAAP
Vaccines are a medical success story. Thanks to vaccines, many serious diseases that once got in the way of children’s health, growth and learning have become rare.
But in some places where less people are getting the vaccines they need, we have seen outbreaks of diseases like measles, mumps and pertussis. When more people get their vaccines, those diseases are less likely to spread again.
Immunization protects your child against these 14 diseases that were once common in the United States.
1. Measles
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet: One child with measles will infect 9 out of 10 unvaccinated people around them.
Measles makes some children, especially babies, very sick. It can even wipe out the immune system’s "memory." This leaves the immune system unprepared to resist other germs.
Measles is still common in other parts of the world, so unvaccinated people can get it while traveling and bring it into the United States.
The good news is that the MMR vaccine is very good at teaching the immune system how to recognize and resist measles; two MMR shots are 97% effective.
The first MMR dose is recommended when your child turns 1 year old, when protective antibodies passed from mother to baby have faded away.
A second MMR shot is recommended when your child is 4-6 years old.
In some cases, babies 6-12 months old can get the MMR vaccine. Talk with your pediatrician if you will be traveling internationally with a young baby or if you live in an area with a measles outbreak.
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2. Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
Have you heard of the 100-day cough? That's what people call pertussis (whooping cough) because that’s how long the coughing can last if your child catches it.
Pertussis is very contagious. It got the name whooping cough because of the high-pitched sound sick children sometimes make while gasping for air after a coughing fit.
This illness can be especially serious for babies. Their small airways and developing lungs make it harder to handle repeated coughing spells, and they may struggle to breathe. Plus, newborns who are too young to be vaccinated are at high risk.
About one-third of infants under 6 months old with whooping cough need hospital care.
Your child’s immune system needs five doses of the DTaP vaccine to protect them from pertussis: at 1-2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months and 4-6 years.
Pregnant women can pass some protection to their babies before birth by getting the Tdap vaccine.
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3. Mumps
Mumps is a viral disease known for causing unusually puffy cheeks and jaw. The salivary glands—the ones that make spit—swell and that’s why childrens’ faces look that way. It spreads easily through tiny drops of saliva when someone coughs or sneezes.
When they have mumps, some kids may feel pretty sick, while others have only mild symptoms. Symptoms include fever, aches and tiredness. Mumps also can lead to meningitis (swelling of the brain and spinal cord), deafness and not being able to have children.
The vaccine against mumps became part of the combined MMR vaccine in 1989. It was so successful that, by 1999, only one in a million kids got sick with mumps. Sadly, in recent years, cases are rising. Mumps outbreaks have happened after kids were exposed in classrooms or on sports teams.
There’s no way to know how serious mumps will be for a child or if they will have complications. That’s why prevention is so important. The MMR vaccine teaches your child’s immune system how to recognize and resist mumps, as well as measles and rubella.
To be protected,
your child needs one dose at 12-15 months and a second one at 4-6 years.
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4. Chickenpox
Chickenpox (varicella) used to cause a lot of misery and missed daycare or school days—typically a week or more. Infections with chickenpox also spread to the lungs or brain in many children and caused other serious illnesses.
Before the vaccine, most kids caught chickenpox by age 9. Since the varicella vaccine became available in 1995, infections have gone down 97%.
Kids with chickenpox often have fever, headache, tiredness and hundreds of itchy blisters. When they scratch the blisters, bacteria on their hands can get in their blood. Children can get very sick and may need to be hospitalized or treated at the intensive care unit.
When a child has chickenpox early in life, it is more likely they have a painful disease called shingles as an adult. That happens because, once a child gets infected, the virus stays in the body for life.
Two doses of the vaccine (at 12-15 months, and at 4-6 years) teach your child’s immune system how to recognize and resist chickenpox for life.
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5. Polio
The polio vaccine changed the lives of millions of children. Before its arrival in 1955, polio physically disabled or paralyzed thousands of kids every year. This virus can affect a child's muscles, spinal cord and brain.
Parents worried everyday activities like birthday parties, public swimming or trips to the movie theater were not safe. The virus is very contagious.
Thanks to vaccines, polio now is rare. It prevents children from getting infected with the virus. The four doses of the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) vaccine teach your child’s immune system to recognize and resist polio: at 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months and 4-6 years of age.
Still, one infected person can cause an outbreak if others around them aren’t vaccinated.
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6. Tetanus
Tetanus is a serious infection caused by bacteria that naturally live in the soil or dust. Your child can be exposed to it through any break in their skin, like a superficial or deep cut. Tetanus makes a toxin that causes painful muscle spasms.
Another name for tetanus is "lockjaw," because it can make the muscles in the jaw and neck tighten and stiffen. These muscles can lock in place, making it hard or even impossible to open the mouth, swallow or move the neck normally.
Since routine childhood vaccination began in the late 1940s, tetanus cases in the U.S. have dropped by more than 95%.
Because the bacteria that cause tetanus are all around us in the environment, it’s impossible to fully eliminate them. On top of that, children often get open cuts or wounds. That’s why the vaccine against tetanus is the best way to protect kids from getting that infection.
The DTaP vaccine teaches your child’s immune system to resist tetanus, plus diphtheria and pertussis. To be protected, your child needs five doses: at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months and 4-6 years of age. They also need a slightly different version of the vaccine, called Tdap, at age 11-12.
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7. The Flu (Influenza)
Influenza (or the flu) is a respiratory virus that kids can catch —and share—easily.
It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes and another person breathes in the virus. It also spreads when someone touches a contaminated surface and then puts a finger in their mouth or nose.
The flu is more than just a bad cold. Most people who get it are sick at home for about a week, but some end up in the hospital. The flu can be serious for kids under age 5 or those with conditions like asthma or diabetes.
Flu vaccines have helped save hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. over the past several decades.
An annual influenza shot, starting at age 6 months, helps your child’s immune system recognize and resist the virus. It prevents children from getting sick to the point they need an ED or hospital. That way they can safely stay in school, go on playdates and do the things kids love doing.
Parents need to know that babies under 6 months aren’t ready to be vaccinated, so it’s important for everyone around them to get the shot. Children younger than 9 who are getting the flu vaccine for the first time need two doses, spaced 4 weeks apart to help boost their immunity.
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8. Hepatitis B
To protect as many people as possible, every newborn should get the hepatitis B vaccine right away. The reason: If a mother has hepatitis B, she can pass it to her baby during birth.
Many people with hepatitis B don’t know they have it until they face serious liver problems later in life. That‘s why a newborn should get the vaccine right after birth,even if mom tested negative for hepatitis B before.
Young children can catch hepatitis B in other ways, too. They could get it through casual contact from someone at day care, for example. The virus can lead to chronic liver disease or even cancer, so preventing infection is very important.
Birth doses of the Hep B vaccine have cut infections in U.S. children and teens by 99%.
The hepatitis B vaccine teaches your child’s immune system to recognize and resist the virus and your newborn needs one within 24 hours after birth, plus a second dose at 1-2 months and another at 6-18 months old.
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9. Hepatitis A
The hepatitis A vaccine was developed in 1995. Since then, it has cut the number of cases dramatically in the U.S.
Hepatitis A spreads through fecal contamination (poop) of hands or food. Babies can give it to their unvaccinated caregivers during a diaper change. It can also spread if an infected person doesn’t wash their hands. Hepatitis A can make your whole family sick for weeks with vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain.
Two doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine (at 12-23 months old and again six months later) teach your child’s immune system to recognize and resist Hepatitis A.
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10. Rubella
Rubella is sometimes called "German measles," but it is caused by a different virus than measles. It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Rubella is now rare in the United States because of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. But travelers can still bring it into the U.S. and spread it to unvaccinated people.
Rubella is especially dangerous for pregnant moms. A pregnant person who gets rubella could have a miscarriage, or the baby could be born prematurely or have serious birth defects.
If you were not vaccinated (or aren’t sure), it’s important to get the shot at least a month before becoming pregnant.
Two doses of the vaccine teach your child’s immune system to respond to the rubella virus. The first dose is at age 12-15 months (typically in the MMR vaccine). The second, at age 4-6 or before starting school, may be part of the MMRV vaccine, which also protects against varicella, or chickenpox.
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11. Hib
Thanks to vaccines, not many people know about Haemophilus Influenzae type b, or Hib. It mostly affects children under age 5.
Hib causes some mild illnesses, like ear infections or bronchitis.
It also causes other diseases that can be very serious, like meningitis or epiglottitis. Epiglottitis is a swelling of the throat that makes it hard for your baby to swallow or breathe. Kids with severe Hib infections need to be hospitalized.
Before the vaccine was available, the germ that causes Hib made thousands of kids sick every year. Back then, Hib was the No. 1 cause of bacterial meningitis in children.
Now, the Hib vaccine is one of the first shots babies get.
Four doses (at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12-15 months old) will teach your child’s immune system to recognize and resist Hib.
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12. Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal bacteria are the most common cause of ear infections in babies and toddlers. They can also lead to severe infections of the lungs (pneumonia), brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or blood.
Some antibiotics used to work against these infections, but now they don’t because bacteria have learned to resist them. That makes it extra important to prevent infections with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), so babies don’t get sick or need antibiotics.
Four doses of the vaccine (at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12-15 months old) teach your child’s immune system to recognize and resist pneumococcal bacteria.
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13. Rotavirus
Rotavirus can make babies and their caregivers very sick. It spreads easily and causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain and fever.
Not all cases are serious, but your child can feel very sick for three to eight days. They can become dehydrated and may need to be treated in a hospital.
After routine rotavirus vaccination began in the mid 2000s, hospital visits and severe illness from rotavirus have dropped dramatically. Today, most parents today never see the worst forms of the illness.
The rotavirus (RV) vaccine comes in the form of drops placed in your baby’s mouth — no needles. Your infant's immune system is ready for it at around 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months old.
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14. Diphtheria
Diphtheria is a dangerous bacterial infection we rarely see today in the United States. That’s thanks to the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine.
Diphtheria can cause a thick covering in the back of the nose or throat that makes it hard for your child to breathe or swallow. It can also cause heart failure or paralysis. Before the vaccine was available, one out of every five children who got diphtheria died.
On-time immunization keeps diphtheria from making a comeback. Five doses of the DTap vaccine teach your child’s immune system to recognize and resist the bacteria: at 2, 4 and 6 months, between15 and 18 months and at 4-6 years old. Your child also needs a slightly different version of the vaccine, called Tdap, at age 11-12.
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Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB)
Within hours after birth, your baby gets a vitamin K shot. While it's not a vaccine, this simple shot helps prevent a dangerous bleeding condition called VKDB.
VKDB was well known before doctors began giving vitamin K to newborns in the early 1960s. Babies who looked healthy at birth could have serious internal bleeding days or even weeks later.
Babies are born with very little vitamin K in their bodies, but they need it to avoid blood clots. Newborns who don’t get the vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to have bleeding in the brain or intestines. Internal bleeding can lead to serious complications or death.
Breast milk does not give your baby enough vitamin K. Instead, the vitamin K shot gives them the amount they need for the first few months, until they can get more from solid foods. It’s important to help your baby get this important vitamin.
Remember
For decades, vaccines against these 14 diseases have made children free to play, learn and grow without fear of getting sick. If we want to keep these old infections in the past, it’s important to make sure our children get vaccinated.
Pediatricians are ready to answer all questions or concerns you may have. Their knowledge and experience make them great partners to help navigate all the information out there. With their support, you can make the best, informed decisions about your child's health.
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About Dr. Kainth
| Mundeep Kainth, DO, MPH, FAAP, is a pediatric infectious disease physician at Northwell Health Cohen Children’s Medical Center where she serves as the Medical Lead of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program. Dr. Kainth is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Infectious Diseases.
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