Routine Vaccination Recommendations
What vaccinations are routinely recommended for adults, adolescents, and children?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are presently 16 diseases that have recommended vaccination schedules. The goal is for all U.S. citizens to receive these vaccinations to prevent the spread of these infectious diseases, and ultimately to eradicate them.
Specific vaccine recommendations vary depending on age, geographic location, and other risk factors.
These basic vaccinations are often given in combination to reduce the number of injections. The following diseases can be prevented by following the CDC guidelines for immunization:
- Diphtheria (this highly potent, bacterial toxin causes disease that is often fatal)
- Hemophilus influenzae type B (bacterial infection that leads to conditions such as meningitis)
- Hepatitis A (a type of viral hepatitis transmitted through oral contact with water, food or items contaminated with feces, which affects the liver, but is usually less harmful than other types of hepatitis)
- Hepatitis B (a potentially more severe form of viral hepatitis transmitted through blood and body fluid exposure)
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) (a common sexually transmitted disease that can cause genital warts called condylomas and can lead to cervical and many other cancers)
- Influenza (flu) (an acute infectious respiratory disease caused by various strains of influenza viruses)
- Measles (an acute viral infection marked by fever, a dusky red rash, and inflamed respiratory mucous membranes)
- Meningicoccal meningitis (inflammation of the brain or spinal cord due to a bacterial infection)
- Mumps (an infection of salivary or parotid glands and sometimes other areas of the body)
- Pertussis (whooping cough) (an acute bacterial infection of the throat causing high pitched coughing spasms)
- Invasive pneumococcal disease (serious infection caused by spread of bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae from the respiratory tract to the blood, brain, or other organs)
- Poliomyelitis (an acute infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract and sometimes the central nervous system)
- Rotavirus (a highly contagious virus, which is the leading cause of severe diarrhea among children)
- Rubella (sometimes called German measles, an acute viral infection characterized by a rash)
- Tetanus (lock jaw) (a disease marked by painful contractions of the muscles)
- Varicella (chicken pox) (an acute, contagious disease, usually occurring in children, caused by the varicella-zoster virus and marked by skin eruptions)
Please visit the Online Resources page for the most up-to-date guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics.