SAN ANTONIO – It's back to school time as most children in San Antonio are heading back to the classroom next week. So is your child up to date on their vaccines?
Dr. Ryan Van Ramshort, a pediatrician at UT Health Science Center, said vaccines are the best way to keep your child from getting sick.
"We want kids to be healthy, we want kids to learn, interact with their teachers and their friends and develop," he said. It's recommended that every child gets in to see their pediatrician or family doctor to make sure they're healthy."
Doctors say the children that need their vaccines the most are those heading into pre-school and kindergarten.
"They need chicken pox vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and a tetanus/polio combo vaccine," Van Ramshort said.
Children ages eleven and twelve also need to return to the doctor.
"They (the children) need to get a meningitis vaccine as well as a tetanus booster shot and as well as the HPV vaccine which prevents cancer," he said.
Van Ramshort understands some parents take issue with having their child vaccinated, but he wants those parents to know how important vaccines are.
"The concerns that I hear brought up the most, the most common is links to autism. Study after study after study has debunked that myth. And, there are concerns about giving too many vaccines at once but the schedule that pediatricians follow from the centers for disease control is the best studied and safest schedule to be followed," he said.
As the summer winds down doctors' offices are only going to get fuller, so it's recommended you call your pediatrician and make your child's appointment as soon as you can.