Vaccine Information for Parents & Caregivers

Group of small nursery school children sitting on floor indoors in classroom, raising hands.Most parents and caregivers today have never seen first-hand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases can have on a child, a family, or community.

Thanks to vaccines, many of these diseases are not common in the U.S., but they persist around the world. Immunizations are still the best way to protect children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccines & Immunizations

The CDC Vaccinations & Immunizations website features easy-to-find vaccine information, including:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has an online resource, Vaccines for Children, A Guide for Parents and Caregivers (en Español: Vacunas para niños: una guía para padres y cuidadores), that describes in more detail the types of routinely administered vaccines available for children, and answers many of the questions posed by parents and caregivers.

Personal stories of vaccine preventable diseases, filterable by disease, age, and language, can be found on the ShotByShot.org website.

California School & Day Care Immunization Requirements and Law Information
The California Department of Public Health Shots for Schools website contains information on the immunizations required for all students enrolled in public and private schools.