Introduction
Wonder what vaccines your child needs? It can be confusing, especially when new vaccines are developed and added to the schedule. Complicating matters is that many vaccines require several doses. And sometimes, due to shortages of vaccines or other issues, a child can get off schedule.

To find out what vaccines your child should have now and what vaccines are coming up, click on the tabs to the left. The specific vaccines for each age group are based on 2007 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other leading organizations.

If your child misses a dose of a particular vaccine, don't worry. Simply ask your child's doctor about catch-up vaccines.

Birth to 4 months: Vaccine recommended

• Hepatitis B — doses 1 and 2 of 3

The timing of the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine depends on whether the mother is infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) at the time of delivery. If you're HBV-positive, your baby needs the first dose of vaccine along with hepatitis B immune globulin within 12 hours of birth. Even if you're HBV-negative, your baby might receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine before leaving the hospital. The second dose of hepatitis B vaccine is given at least one month after the first dose.

2 months: Vaccines recommended

• Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — dose 1 of 5
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) — dose 1 of 4
• Inactivated poliovirus (IPV) — dose 1 of 4
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7) — dose 1 of 4
• Rotavirus vaccine — dose 1 of 3

At age 2 months, your baby receives the first in a series of several shots designed to offer protection from many diseases. To develop immunity, your baby needs several doses of each vaccine in the months to come. To reduce the number of shots, ask your baby's doctor about combination vaccines. For children who must avoid the pertussis vaccine, combination vaccines are available without it.

Timing is especially important for the rotavirus vaccine. The first dose is recommended at age 2 months. The vaccine series can't be started after age 3 months.

4 months: Vaccines recommended

• Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — dose 2 of 5
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) — dose 2 of 4
• Inactivated poliovirus (IPV) — dose 2 of 4
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7) — dose 2 of 4
• Rotavirus vaccine — dose 2 of 3

At the 4-month checkup, your baby receives follow-up doses to those vaccines received at the 2-month checkup. To reduce the number of shots, ask your baby's doctor about combination vaccines.

6 months: Vaccines recommended

• Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — dose 3 of 5
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) — dose 3 of 4
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7) — dose 3 of 4
• Rotavirus vaccine — dose 3 of 3

At the 6-month checkup, your baby receives another round of the vaccines given at 2 months and 4 months, with the exception of the polio vaccine. The third dose of polio vaccine comes a little later in the vaccines schedule. Again, ask your baby's doctor about combination vaccines to reduce the number of shots.

6 months to 18 months: Vaccines recommended

• Hepatitis B — dose 3 of 3
• Inactivated poliovirus (IPV) — dose 3 of 4

Unless your baby's hepatitis B vaccine series began in the newborn nursery, he or she receives the final dose of vaccine at this time. For full effectiveness, the final dose of hepatitis B vaccine is given at least eight weeks after your baby receives the second dose. The last dose of hepatitis B vaccine shouldn't be given to children younger than age 6 months.

Your baby's doctor may recommend giving the polio vaccine at around age 9 months to avoid giving four shots at the 6-month checkup.

6 months to 59 months: Vaccine recommended

• Influenza — annual dose

An annual influenza vaccine protects your child from the flu. This yearly vaccine is especially important for children between ages 6 months and 59 months because they're among those most likely to be hospitalized for complications of the flu. In the first year that your child receives a flu shot, two doses are required, spaced one month apart. In the following years, only one dose of vaccine is needed. The vaccine is available each fall and provides protection during the upcoming flu season.

12 months to 15 months: Vaccines recommended

• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) — dose 4 of 4
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV7) — dose 4 of 4
• Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) — dose 1 of 2
• Chickenpox (varicella) — dose 1 of 2

The final doses of both Hib and PCV7 vaccines must wait until your child is age 12 months or older. The first doses of MMR and varicella vaccines also are given at this time. To avoid giving four shots in one visit, your child's doctor may recommend the MMR and varicella vaccines at age 12 months and the Hib and PCV7 vaccines at age 15 months. It's also common to combine the MMR and varicella vaccines in a single shot.

12 months to 23 months: Vaccine recommended

• Hepatitis A — 2 doses

The hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for all children at age 12 months, with the two doses in the series given at least six months apart.

15 months to 18 months: Vaccine recommended

• Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — dose 4 of 5

Your child should receive the fourth dose of DTaP between ages 15 months and 18 months. In some cases, the fourth dose can be given as early as age 12 months, as long as it's been six months since the last dose.

4 years to 6 years: Vaccines recommended

• Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — dose 5 of 5
• Inactivated poliovirus (IPV) — dose 4 of 4
• Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) — dose 2 of 2
• Chickenpox (varicella) — dose 2 of 2

About the time your child starts kindergarten, he or she should receive the final doses of DTaP, IPV, MMR and varicella vaccines. Many states require proof of current vaccinations before allowing school enrollment. The more children who've been immunized, the better the protection of all children in the school from vaccine-preventable diseases.

11 years to 12 years: Vaccines recommended

• Human papillomavirus (HPV), for girls — 3 doses
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) — 1 dose
• Tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) — 1 dose

The human papillomavirus vaccine offers protection from the viruses that cause genital warts and most cervical cancers. The vaccine is intended for girls ages 11 to 12, but it may be used in girls as young as age 9. The vaccine is given as a series of three injections over a six-month period. The second dose is given two months after the first dose, followed four months later by the third dose. A catch-up immunization is recommended for girls ages 13 to 26 who haven't been vaccinated or who haven't completed the full vaccine series.

MCV4 is recommended for children age 11 and older and for unvaccinated adolescents when they enter high school, about age 15. College freshmen living in dormitories who haven't previously received the meningococcal vaccine also should be vaccinated with MCV4 or with meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4).

If your child has completed the childhood DTP/DTaP vaccination series but hasn't received a Td booster shot, he or she should have the booster shot at age 11 to 12. Follow-up doses are recommended every 10 years.