Vaccinations are confusing. Who needs them? Why get them? When should you get them? To help clear things up, here are four tools to help you vaccinate with confidence.
Vaccines On the Go: What You Should Know
This is a free mobile app available for download on Android or Apple devices with many different features designed to educate and promote vaccinations. The app, designed by the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has a multitude of information like about which vaccinations your child needs at each age, the types of vaccines and how they’re made and vaccine safety concerns like autism and thimerosal. The app has some fun features too like videos and games. The one downside is the app is designed to work for everyone, so it’s not very customizable.
This is a website designed to help busy parents make sure their child’s vaccinations are up to date based on age and the Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule. The site has you enter your child’s name, age, and a complete history of their vaccinations. It then creates a color coded chart of which vaccinations your child has been administered, which ones your child needs to catch up on, and which are on-time. The chart also lets you know which vaccines are invalid due to early/late administration or preemptive, in the case of outbreak or travel. But one thing you should know is approximately when your child received the vaccine. This chart uses this information for its suggested vaccination schedule, and having the right date is important.
CDC Vaccine Chart
The CDC also has an effective chart for knowing which vaccinations your child should take when. The chart is designed for children from birth to 6 years old and also tracks baby milestones and growth. There’s also a spot to indicate your well child visit date for your own personal records. The chart is easy to follow and easy to fill in as your child receives vaccinations. The downside is that it ends at six years old, and the seven to eighteen year old chart isn’t as much fun.
Vaccines On the Go: What You Should Know
This is a free mobile app available for download on Android or Apple devices with many different features designed to educate and promote vaccinations. The app, designed by the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has a multitude of information like about which vaccinations your child needs at each age, the types of vaccines and how they’re made and vaccine safety concerns like autism and thimerosal. The app has some fun features too like videos and games. The one downside is the app is designed to work for everyone, so it’s not very customizable.
iVaccine
iVaccine is also an app available to both Android and Apple users, and this one is a bit more personal. iVaccine allows you to track each of your children and which vaccines they need. It also sends out push notifications for upcoming vaccinations. You can also customize notifications for specific appointments that it will remind you of. Beyond that, the app contains descriptions of each vaccine and an extensive data base. The data base tells you what each vaccine protects against and what side effects your child may experience due to vaccination. This app isn’t as informational as Vaccines On the Go but it is designed to be more personal and help especially with babies and keeping track of their multitude of vaccines.
Catch-Up Vaccination Scheduler
This is a website designed to help busy parents make sure their child’s vaccinations are up to date based on age and the Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule. The site has you enter your child’s name, age, and a complete history of their vaccinations. It then creates a color coded chart of which vaccinations your child has been administered, which ones your child needs to catch up on, and which are on-time. The chart also lets you know which vaccines are invalid due to early/late administration or preemptive, in the case of outbreak or travel. But one thing you should know is approximately when your child received the vaccine. This chart uses this information for its suggested vaccination schedule, and having the right date is important.
CDC Vaccine Chart
The CDC also has an effective chart for knowing which vaccinations your child should take when. The chart is designed for children from birth to 6 years old and also tracks baby milestones and growth. There’s also a spot to indicate your well child visit date for your own personal records. The chart is easy to follow and easy to fill in as your child receives vaccinations. The downside is that it ends at six years old, and the seven to eighteen year old chart isn’t as much fun.
Washington State Immunization Records
Did you know that you can now access your Washington state immunization records for your family online? Registration is quick and easy. You can learn more at www.wa.myir.net. Sound Family Medicine strives to help you and your family stay healthy. With that, we do our best to make keeping track of your vaccinations as simple as possible. To learn more about the different vaccinations you can receive at our clinic, click here. 