Children's Vaccines Health Center

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Who should get it?

• All children need four doses-one at age 2 months, one at 4 months, one at 6 months, and one at 12 to 15 months.
• One dose is given to healthy children ages 24 to 59 months who did not get all the doses before.
• Children ages 24 to 71 months who have medical conditions and did not get all the doses before may need one or two doses.
• All children ages 14 to 59 months who finished the full series of PCV7 shots need one dose of PCV13. Children who have medical conditions and are younger than 6 years of age need one dose of PCV13, even if they finished the full series of PCV7 shots or had the PPSV shot.

Polio (What is a PDF document?)

This shot protects against polio.

Who should get it?

• Four doses are given to all children-one at age 2 months, one at 4 months, one at 6 to 18 months, and one at 4 to 6 years.

Rotavirus (What is a PDF document?)

This immunization (called RotaTeq or Rotarix) protects against rotavirus infection, which causes severe diarrhea.

Who should get it?

• Three doses of RotaTeq are given to all children-one at age 2 months, one at 4 months, and one at 6 months. If your child gets Rotarix, two doses are given-one at age 2 months and one at 4 months.

This immunization is swallowed rather than given as a shot. Without this vaccine, most children will get infected by the time they are about 5 years old.

Other immunizations

Your child's doctor may suggest other shots if your child is at higher risk than other children for certain health problems. These may include:

Meningococcal conjugate (Menactra or Menveo) (What is a PDF document?)

This shot protects against a bacteria that causes meningitis and blood infections (sepsis).

Who should get it?

• Children who have a higher risk than other children for getting and having severe problems from meningitis need at least two shots.
  • Children at high risk who are ages 9 months to 23 months need two doses of Menactra, given 3 months apart. This includes children who have certain immune system problems and children who live in or will travel to areas of the world where the disease is common. This recommendation does not apply to children who have a damaged or missing spleen.
  • Children who are at high risk because they have a damaged or missing spleen need two doses of either Menactra or Menveo, starting at 2 years of age. The doses are given 2 months apart.

Children who remain at high risk need routine booster shots starting a few years after their first doses of meningococcal conjugate shots. Ask your doctor if your child has a high risk of getting infections from bacterial meningitis and whether booster shots are needed.

Pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPSV, or Pneumovax 23) (What is a PDF document?)