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About Each Vaccine

Learn more about each vaccine with these easy to read handouts. Just click on the link below in the language you prefer. Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with your child’s provider.

DTaP: Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccine

The DTaP and Tdap vaccines both protect against three bacterial infections: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

Hepatitis A Vaccine

Hepatitis A is a virus that causes hepatitis (inflammation of the liver). Symptoms include fever, jaundice (a yellowing of the skin), nausea and vomiting. Young children are much less likely to develop symptoms when they are infected with hepatitis A virus than adults.

Hepatitis B Vaccine

The hepatitis B vaccine is given to prevent the severe liver disease that can develop when children or adults are infected with hepatitis B virus.

Hib Vaccine

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is a bacterium that can lead to meningitis, epiglottis, pneumonia and other serious infections.

Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that can result in skin infections and various forms of cancer, including cervical and reproductive cancers.

Influenza Vaccine

Commonly known as the flu, influenza is a virus that infects the trachea (windpipe) or bronchi (breathing tubes).

Meningococcus Vaccine

Meningococcus is a bacterium. Meningococcal bacteria live on the lining of the nose and throat and are spread from one person to another by close personal contact. Occasionally, the bacterium enters the bloodstream and causes severe disease.

MMR: Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine

The MMR vaccine contains vaccines that protect against three viral infections: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.

Pneumococcus Vaccine

Pneumococcus is a bacterium that causes several different types of serious infections in children. But by far the most common is pneumonia.

Polio Vaccine

Polio is caused by a virus and is highly contagious. It affects people differently — some don’t feel sick at all, others complain of anything from a sore throat to fever, stomach pain or vomiting, stiff neck or headache. The virus does its damage by first reproducing itself (or replicating) in the intestines, then traveling through the bloodstream where it can infect the brain and spinal cord. Paralysis caused by polio occurs when the virus replicates in and attacks the nervous system.

Rotavirus Vaccine

Rotavirus is a virus that infects the lining of the intestines. Although not typically known by its name, most parents recognize rotavirus by its symptoms — high fever, persistent and severe vomiting and diarrhea.

Varicella (chickenpox) Vaccine

Chickenpox is an infection caused by the varicella virus, and it is highly contagious. The rash of chickenpox begins as red bumps that turn into blisters that cover the entire body. There are usually as many as 300-500 blisters during a single infection.