Vaccines

Your child benefits from being up-to-date on vaccines to protect them from serious diseases that cause illness, disability, and, sometimes, death. The pediatric care team at the Center for Advanced Pediatrics makes sure your child gets all the vaccines they need to stay healthy and disease-free. Call the office in Norwalk or Darien, Connecticut, today to find out more about your child’s vaccine needs, or use this website to schedule an appointment online. 

How do vaccines work?

Vaccines, also called immunizations and vaccinations, protect your child from severe disease and illness. They also protect the community from a devastating outbreak.

Until a disease is completely eradicated, children (and unvaccinated adults) should continue to receive vaccinations against it. Vaccines cause your immune system to create resistance to the disease.

Vaccines contain tiny amounts of an active or dead virus. When the vaccine enters the body, it tricks the immune system into thinking it has the disease. The immune system reacts by creating antibodies that protect your child should they come into contact with the virus again.

Vaccines aren’t always 100% effective. But when a vaccinated child gets a symptomatic version of an infection, the symptoms are milder than they would have been had they not been vaccinated.

How long does the protection from vaccines last?

Some vaccine antibodies last a lifetime, while the effectiveness of others weakens over time, requiring booster shots. Other illnesses, like influenza (the flu), change every year, so your child needs yearly vaccines to protect them against the current strain.

Why are vaccines necessary?

Vaccines stop epidemics of highly contagious and potentially life-threatening diseases like measles, whooping cough (pertussis), and mumps.

Many schools and other public places make vaccines mandatory for students to protect others from a potentially deadly illnesses. Vaccines can prevent an outbreak that affects people with compromised immunity.

What vaccines should my child receive?

Children usually receive most of their vaccines before they reach six years old. The Center for Advanced Pediatrics team can determine if your child is up to date on their immunizations. They’ll let you know what vaccines your child needs and when they should get them.

The essential vaccines are:

• Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP)
• Influenza
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Rotavirus
• Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
• Pneumococcal
• Hæmophilus influenzæ type B
• Poliovirus

Click here for more vaccine information

A yearly flu shot and COVID-19 vaccinations are also recommended. Contact the Center for Advanced Pediatrics to find out if your child is eligible or in need of these vaccines.

Call the Center for Advanced Pediatrics today or reach out online to find out how to bring your child up to date on disease protection with vaccines.