We want to do the best for our children, and that includes keeping them healthy. Children are vulnerable to a variety of infectious diseases and the best way to get children off to a healthy start in life is by getting them vaccinated. With fairs happening, and school and sports about to resume, children are going to be close together and sharing their germs, so now is a good time to schedule your child’s vaccinations with their doctor or at NCHD.
NCHD offers immunizations for children and teens and some for adults as well, at all six of our county offices by appointment. The office schedules are on our immunizations page. NCHD can provide immunizations to children with Medicaid and we also participate in some programs that provide free or low-cost vaccines for those who are eligible, generally uninsured or underinsured, so you can ask about that when you call to make an appointment. Our main number is 877-795-0646.
There are certain vaccine requirements for children in Colorado to enter child care and school. On our immunizations page we also have links to those state requirements, to the recommended vaccine schedules by age, recommendations for travelers, and to the patient portal for the Colorado Immunization Information System so you can request vaccination records for your child or you as needed.
We are exposed to bacteria, viruses, and other germs constantly. Some of these cause serious, even deadly diseases. For example, measles is an airborne, extremely infectious disease that can cause serious complications for children and adults. It’s not just a rash;
Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea.
Severe complications include pneumonia and swelling of the brain, either of which can lead to death.
Mumps and rubella are similar diseases in that they are airborne and highly infectious.
Serious complications from mumps include inflammation of the brain, meningitis (inflammation of the covering of the brain/spinal cord), permanent or temporary hearing loss, pancreatitis, and reproductive problems.
Rubella is especially dangerous during pregnancy because of the risks to the developing baby, potentially leading to deafness, heart defects, liver damage, and learning disabilities.
The combination MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is given to young children between the ages of 12-15 months with a second shot between 4-6 years of age and provide lifelong immunity for most people. This vaccine has been 97% effective in reducing measles and rubella and 88% effective in reducing mumps in the U.S. over the last 60 years.
Let’s talk about how vaccines work and why they are so effective at controlling disease. The immune system is a huge network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body from harmful diseases. This system must constantly learn to recognize new harmful invaders and then continue to protect the body from a recurrence of disease by remembering what caused that infection.
Vaccines help protect against certain diseases by imitating an infection. This type of imitation infection helps teach the immune system how to fight off a future infection and create the antibodies specific to that infection. Individuals can feel like they are a little bit sick after a vaccination, which is a sign that the immune system is working to attack that germ, but typically the symptoms are going to be much less severe with much less risk of suffering dangerous complications than if the individual had to go through the full disease process.
The other thing that makes vaccines so important is that they don’t just protect you – they also protect the people around you. This is called community immunity, also known as herd immunity. Germs like the ones that cause measles, mumps, and rubella travel quickly through a community and make a lot of people sick. There will always be some people in the community who may not be able to get a vaccine due to certain health conditions, or infants too young for some vaccines. When enough people are vaccinated against a disease the germ can’t travel as easily around the community and those people are also protected.
The diseases in our example (measles, mumps, and rubella) have been well controlled in the U.S. through widespread vaccination over several generations, but they can come back if people become complacent about immunizations. Many countries still have measles outbreaks and when people travel, they can bring the measles virus back with them. In 2024 there have already been more measles cases in the U. S. than in all of 2023. If we continue to keep up our vaccination rates, we can prevent serious outbreaks. Measles is so contagious that we need almost 95% of the population to be immune in order to reach the herd immunity threshold and eliminate measles.
Children should be vaccinated against 14 diseases by age 2, ensuring they have the healthiest start possible. Those diseases include Hepatitis A & B, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (whooping cough), Hib disease, Pneumococcal (pneumonia/meningitis), Rotavirus, Poliovirus, Influenza, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella (chickenpox).
There will be boosters for some of those during the pre-school years. For example additional doses of the combination shots for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP), for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), and polio are recommended between 4-6 years. Of course, the goal is to have kids be able to participate in school with the best protection from disease transmission and opportunity to be present and learn and it's not too early to prepare
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