Birmingham, Ala. (July 28, 2023) — The school bell will be ringing soon. This means parents are busy getting their children ready for the new school year. While parents are going through their back-to-school checklist, doctors are urging them to remember to include a visit to their child’s pediatrician.
“Starting school each year is a very active time. There’s an awful lot for parents to do” said Dr. David Kimberlin, co-director of the Division of pediatric infectious disease at Children’s of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “I would say the most important thing for them to do is to connect with their pediatrician or their family practice doctor and make sure that all immunizations are up to date.”
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, from newborn to college, a parent can protect their child from 16 serious diseases by getting them vaccinated. Certificates of immunizations must be presented at schools at the beginning of the school year. Only medical and religious exemptions for vaccinations are allowed.
Kimberlin says vaccines have been around for hundreds of years. Vaccines train your immune system to be as strong as possible and fight off an infection before you get sick from it. Different vaccines have different side effects, and Kimberlin says, usually they are mild such as a sore arm or leg or a slight fever.
“Vaccines are very, very low risk and very high reward when you think about the number of lives saved because of the vaccines we use now,” said Kimberlin. “A vaccine only works if you get it; it doesn’t work sitting on a shelf.”
Kimberlin says the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a well-tested vaccine schedule, which means some vaccines are given as a series of shots, not just one single dose. Other vaccinations require a booster shot every few years to make sure that the level of immunity remains high. After getting the vaccination, it generally takes 10 days to 2 weeks for the body to build up immunity to the disease. Kimberlin acknowledges that some parents may have doubts about vaccines, but he says they are safe.
“They have been very well studied,” said Kimberlin. “They do what they are supposed to do. If parents have any concerns or questions, the best person to sit down and talk about it with is your pediatrician or family practice doctor, and they will engage you on that.”
Parents have several locations where they can go to get their children’s vaccines. Kimberlin says most go to their pediatrician. Others go to the health department or in some instances, parents can go to their pharmacy. He believes that over time more vaccines will be available through the pharmacy.
Once a parent receives his or her child’s certificate from a doctor, they are encouraged to keep it filed away so they can find it easily later. If a child plans to go to college, he or she will need to show proof that they have had a condition or been immunized. Some jobs also require proof of immunization.
For an Immunization schedule, click here.
