Parents – August is National Immunization Awareness Month! Now that we’re starting the back to school mode here in Pembroke Pines and South Florida there’s a lot to think about – and protecting your child’s health should be at the top of the ‘back to school list’.

Vaccines provide mothers and fathers the safest, proven solution to protect their infants, toddlers and school age kids from powerful diseases. Doctors recommend that parents follow an immunization schedule to give their children the vaccines they need, when they need them.

School aged children will be due for additional doses of certain vaccines between ages 4 and 6. It is so important to follow the recommended immunization schedule to protect your children’s health. If for some reason your child falls behind the immunizations schedule, vaccines can still be given to help the child “catch-up” before the teenage years.

Remember that day care centers and schools are prone to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Kids easily spread these infections to each other through poor hygiene, not washing their hands, not covering their mouths when they cough, noses when they sneeze, chatting in close quarters and through general interaction in the school environment. From Pines West Academy to Pembroke Pines Elementary School, when children are not vaccinated, they increase their risk for disease and increase the risk for others.

So make sure you take a moment to think about whether your child is up to date on their vaccines. And if not, work with your Pembroke Pines area doctor or pediatrician to develop an immunization schedule for your child