Travel Vaccines
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Shoham Medical Group
Pediatrician & Adolescent Medicine Physician located in San Fernando Valley, CA
When you travel internationally with children and infants, it’s important that their vaccinations are up-to-date. Steven C. Shoham, MD, and his team at Shoham Medical of Granada Hills, California, can work with you to ensure your child is protected before going on new adventures. They offer counseling for location-specific travel vaccinations that may be necessary to protect you and your family while traveling. For a consultation, call or schedule an appointment online.
Travel Vaccines Q & A
Why are travel vaccinations important?
When your family travels internationally, you are at higher risk for exposure to foreign diseases that could make you or your child very ill.
Your child’s immune system might not be able to fight off diseases prevalent in other parts of the world. Each country has different health risks so that location-specific vaccinations may be needed in addition to routine vaccinations.
These may include vaccinations for:
- Yellow fever
- Typhoid
- Japanese encephalitis
- Meningitis
- Rabies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children and adults traveling internationally are up-to-date on all United States recommended vaccinations, as well as any vaccinations needed specifically for the area they may be traveling.
When should my child get travel vaccines?
According to the CDC, you should see your pediatrician between four and six weeks before travel for vaccination recommendations. In most cases, this gives your child enough time to receive vaccinations and build adequate immunity against disease.
Vaccinations must be given in a certain order and with minimum times in between to be effective. Most vaccines require a month to build proper immunity. Some vaccinations require more than one dose and have to be properly spaced to build immunity.
Children or infants who need many or all of their recommended vaccinations can get their shots on an accelerated schedule if needed.
When you travel with a newborn, the CDC advises that the earliest an infant can receive most U.S. recommended immunizations is at six weeks old.
What are the travel vaccinations recommended for children?
At a minimum, the U.S. recommended vaccinations for children and infants include:
- Hepatitis A virus
- Hepatitis B virus
- Diphtheria
- Tetanus
- Pertussis
- Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
- Human papillomavirus
- Influenza
- Mumps measles rubella, or MMR
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Streptococcus pneumonia
- Varicella
You should discuss with your pediatrician at Shoham Medical what other travel vaccinations your child may need specific to your travel plans.
For a consultation about how you can properly protect your child using travel vaccinations, call or schedule an appointment with Shoham Medical today.
