Six things YOU need to know about vaccines
1. We all need vaccines throughout our lives to help protect against serious diseases.
Every year, tens of thousands of Americans get sick from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines – some people are hospitalized, some even die. Immunization is our best protection against these diseases. Vaccines are recommended for children, teens, and adults based on different factors like age, health conditions, lifestyle, jobs, and travel.
CDC and other medical experts update vaccine recommendations every year based on the latest research and science. Vaccination is a critical step in protecting those that are most vulnerable to illness – infants and young children, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions and weakened immune systems.
3. The CDC and FDA take many steps to make sure vaccines are very safe.
5. You can even make sure your baby is born with protection by getting vaccinated when you are pregnant
You probably know that when you are pregnant, you share everything with your baby. That means when you get vaccinated, you aren’t just protecting yourself—you are passing some protection on to your baby in the first few months of life when they are too young to build immunity on their own. CDC recommends you get whooping cough and flu vaccines during each pregnancy to help protect yourself and your developing baby.