Vaccinations are an important part of your child's total health

National Infant Immunization Week is April 27-May 4. To help educate the Campbell County, Wyoming community on the importance of immunizations, Campbell County Health experts at the Campbell County Medical Group Kid Clinic and Pediatrics Clinic have put together some videos and blog posts.

Dr. Francesca McCaffrey, a pediatrician in the Campbell County Medical Group Pediatrics Clinic, outlines some steps you can take to help your child's vaccination visit go smoothly in this video.

Check out some more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how vaccines strengthen your baby’s immune system below.

Your child is exposed to thousands of germs every day in their environment. This happens through the food they eat, air they breathe and the things they put in their mouth.

Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but there are some deadly diseases they can’t handle. That’s why they need vaccines to strengthen their immune system.

Vaccines use very small amounts of antigens to help your child’s immune system recognize and learn to fight serious diseases. Antigens are parts of germs that cause the body’s immune system to go to work. Vaccines contain only a tiny fraction of the antigens that babies encounter in their environment every day.

Francesca McCaffrey, DO, MPH, works at the CCMG Pediatrics Clinic located in the Main Clinic at 501 S. Burma Avenue in Gillette, Wyoming, on the south side of Campbell County Memorial Hospital. Learn more about this practice at www.cchwyo.org/peds.