Make pencils #2 to immunizations on your back to school list

CDC / James Gatheny

It’s that time of year again. Children and teens are heading back to school after summer break.

As parents are preparing for the first day of school, it’s also important to make sure their child’s immunizations are up to date.

Why are vaccinations important? Outbreaks still happen. For example, in 2009-2010 there was an outbreak of mumps that involved 3,000 people, most of whom were high school students.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, staying up to date on vaccinations is the best way to protect your child as well as your community and schools from outbreaks. Vaccinations provide protection from infectious diseases such as diphtheria, human papillomavirus, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, pertussis, polio, tetanus, mumps and measles. Many schools require that students are current on their vaccinations before classes start.

Check out CDC’s Adolescent Immunization Scheduler as well as Get Ready’s vaccines fact sheets for kids and teens.