VACCINE INFORMATION STATEMENT

Your Baby’s First Vaccines

What You Need to Know

Many Vaccine Information Statements are 

available in Spanish and other languages. 

See www.immunize.org/vis

Hojas de información sobre vacunas están 

disponibles en español y en muchos otros 

idiomas. Visite www.immunize.org/vis

Your baby will get these vaccines today:

 DTaP  Polio

 Hib  PCV13

 Hepatitis B

(Provider: Check appropriate boxes.)

1 Why get vaccinated?

These vaccines can protect your baby from 7 

childhood diseases: 

1. Diphtheria

Signs and symptoms include a thick coating in the 

back of the throat that can make it hard to breathe.

Diphtheria can lead to breathing problems, paralysis 

and heart failure.

•	About 15,000 people died each year in the U.S. from 

diphtheria before there was a vaccine.

2. Tetanus (Lockjaw)

Signs and symptoms include painful tightening of the 

muscles, usually all over the body.

Tetanus can lead to stiffness of the jaw that can make 

it difficult to open the mouth or swallow.

•	 Tetanus kills 1 person out of every 5 who get it.

3. Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

Signs and symptoms include violent coughing spells 

that can make it hard for an infant to eat, drink, or 

breathe. These spells can last for several weeks.

Pertussis can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain 

damage, or death.

4. Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)

Signs and symptoms can include fever, headache, stiff 

neck, cough, and shortness of breath. There might not 

be any signs or symptoms in mild cases.

Hib can lead to meningitis (infection of the brain and 

spinal cord coverings); pneumonia; infections of the 

blood, joints, bones, and covering of the heart; brain 

damage; and deafness.

•	 Before there was a vaccine, Hib disease was the 

leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children 

under 5 years of age in the U.S.

5. Hepatitis B

Signs and symptoms include tiredness, diarrhea and 

vomiting, jaundice (yellow skin or eyes), and pain in 

muscles, joints and stomach. But usually there are no 

signs or symptoms at all.

Hepatitis B can lead to liver damage, and liver 

cancer. Some people develop chronic (long term) 

hepatitis B infection. These people might not look or 

feel sick, but they can infect others.

•	 Hepatitis B can cause liver damage and cancer in 1 

child out of 4 who are chronically infected.

6. Polio

Signs and symptoms can include flu-like illness, or 

there may be no signs or symptoms at all.

Polio can lead to permanent paralysis (can’t move an 

arm or leg, or sometimes can’t breathe) and death.

•	In the 1950s, polio paralyzed more than 15,000 

people every year in the U.S.

7. Pneumococcal Disease

Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, cough, and 

chest pain.

Pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis 

(infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings), 

blood infections, ear infections, pneumonia, deafness, 

and brain damage.

These diseases are much less common than they used 

to be. But the germs that cause them still exist, and 

even a disease that has almost disappeared will come 

back if we stop vaccinating. This has already happened 

in some parts of the world. When fewer babies get 

vaccinated, more babies get sick. 

Babies usually catch these diseases from other children 

or adults, who might not even know they are infected. 

A mother with Hepatitis B can infect her baby at 

birth. Tetanus enters the body through a cut or 

wound; it is not spread from person to person.
Five Childhood Vaccines can protect your baby from these seven diseases:

Vaccine Number 

of doses

Recommended ages Other information

DTaP (diphtheria, 

tetanus, pertussis)

5 2 months, 4 months, 

6 months, 15-18 months, 

4-6 years

Some children should not get pertussis vaccine. 

These children can get a vaccine called DT (diphtheria 

& tetanus).

Hepatitis B 3 Birth, 1-2 months, 

6-18 months

Polio 4 2 months, 4 months, 

6-18 months, 4-6 years

An additional dose of polio vaccine may be recommended for 

travel to certain countries.

Hib (Haemophilus 

influenzae type b)

3 or 4 2 months, 4 months, 

(6 months), 12-15 months

There are several Hib vaccines. With one of them the 6-month 

dose is not needed.

PCV13 

(pneumococcal)

4 2 months, 4 months, 

6 months, 12-15 months

Older children with certain health conditions may also need 

this vaccine.

Your healthcare provider might offer some of these vaccines as combination vaccines—several vaccines given in the 

same shot. Combination vaccines are as safe and effective as the individual vaccines, and can mean fewer shots for 

your baby.

2 Some children should not 

get certain vaccines

Most children can safely get all of these vaccines. But 

there are some exceptions:

•	A child who is sick on the day vaccinations are 

scheduled might be asked to come back for them at a 

later date.

•	Any child who had a life-threatening allergic 

reaction after getting a vaccine should not get 

another dose of that vaccine.

A child who has a severe (life-threatening) allergy 

to a substance should not get a vaccine that contains 

that substance. Some of these vaccines contain 

neomycin, streptomycin, yeast, lactose, sucrose, or 

latex.

Tell your doctor if your child has any severe 

allergies, or has ever had a severe reaction after 

any vaccination.

Talk to your doctor before your child gets...

...DTaP vaccine, if your child ever had any of these 

reactions after a previous dose of DTaP:

•	A brain or nervous system disease within 7 days,

•	 Non-stop crying for 3 hours or more,

•	A seizure or collapse,

•	A fever of over 105°F.

...Polio vaccine, if your child has a severe allergy 

to the antibiotics neomycin, streptomycin or 

polymyxin B.

...Hepatitis B vaccine, if your child has a severe 

allergy to yeast.

...PCV13 vaccine, if your child has a severe allergy 

to yeast, or ever had a severe reaction after a dose of 

DTaP (or other vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid), 

or after a dose of PCV7, an earlier pneumococcal 

vaccine.

3 Risks of a Vaccine Reaction

Vaccines, like medicines, can cause side effects. 

Most vaccine reactions are not serious: tenderness, 

redness, or swelling where the shot was given; or a 

mild fever. These occur soon after the shot is given and 

go away within a day or two. They happen with up to 

about half of vaccinations, depending on the vaccine. 

Polio, Hepatitis B and Hib Vaccines have been 

associated only with these kinds of mild reactions. 

Other childhood vaccines have been associated with 

additional problems:

DTaP Vaccine

Mild Problems: Fussiness (up to 1 child in 3); 

tiredness or poor appetite (up to 1 child in 10); 

vomiting (up to 1 child in 50); swelling of the entire 

arm or leg for 1-7 days (up to 1 child in 30)—usually 

after the 4th or 5th dose.

Moderate Problems: Seizure (1 child in 14,000); 

non-stop crying for 3 hours or longer (up to 1 child in 

1,000); fever over 105°F (1 child in 16,000).
Serious problems: Long term seizures, coma, lowered 

consciousness, and permanent brain damage have 

been reported following DTaP vaccination. These 

reports are rare.

Pneumococcal Vaccine

Mild Problems: Drowsiness or temporary loss of 

appetite (about 1 child in 2 or 3); fussiness (about 

8 children in 10).

Moderate Problems: Fever over 102.2°F (about 

1 child in 20).

Problems that could happen after any vaccine:

•	 Brief fainting spells can happen after any medical 

procedure, including a vaccination. Sitting or lying 

down for about 15 minutes can help prevent fainting, 

and injuries caused by a fall. 

•	 Severe shoulder pain and reduced range of motion 

in the arm where a shot was given can happen, very 

rarely, after a vaccination. 

•	 Severe allergic reactions from a vaccine are very 

rare, estimated at less than 1 in a million doses. If 

one were to occur, it would usually be within a few 

minutes to a few hours after the vaccination.

As with any medicine, there is a very remote chance of 

a vaccine causing a serious injury or death.

The safety of vaccines is always being monitored. For 

more information, visit: www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/

4 What if there is a serious 

reaction?

What should I look for?

•	 Look for anything that concerns you, such as signs 

of a severe allergic reaction, very high fever, or 

behavior changes.

Signs of a severe allergic reaction can include hives, 

swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a 

fast heartbeat, dizziness, and weakness. These would 

usually start a few minutes to a few hours after the 

vaccination.

What should I do?

•	If you think it is a severe allergic reaction or other 

emergency that can’t wait, call 9-1-1 or get the person 

to the nearest hospital. Otherwise, call your doctor.

•	Afterward, the reaction should be reported to the 

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). 

Your doctor should file this report, or you can do it 

yourself through the VAERS web site at 

www.vaers.hhs.gov, or by calling 1-800-822-7967.

VAERS does not give medical advice.

5 The National Vaccine Injury 

Compensation Program

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program 

(VICP) is a federal program that was created to 

compensate people who may have been injured by 

certain vaccines.

Persons who believe they may have been injured by a 

vaccine can learn about the program and about filing a 

claim by calling 1-800-338-2382 or visiting the VICP 

website at www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation. 

There is a time limit to file a claim for compensation.

6 How can I learn more?

•	Ask your doctor.

•	Call your local or state health department.

•	Contact the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC):

- Call 1-800-232-4636 (1-800-CDC-INFO)

- Visit CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines or 

www.cdc.gov/hepatitis

 Vaccine Information Statement (Interim)

 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-26

10/22/2014

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