Is your child up to date on their vaccines? Make a plan today
Keeping kids’ vaccinations current can help protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases
August 18, 2025
One of the many ways parents can help protect their kids from certain infectious diseases is by keeping them up to date on their recommended vaccines.
“Vaccines are powerful tools that can help protect against certain diseases. Making sure your kids are up to date on their vaccines is one way you can help protect them,” said Andrew “Drew” Otoo, PharmD, president of global vaccines from 2022-2025 and current regional president, Merck. “Speak with your child’s health care provider and ask about vaccines that may be recommended.”
In addition to scheduling vaccinations, child well-visits are essential for discussing concerns about children’s health and tracking growth and developmental milestones.
“For all of us, let’s get creative. We’ve seen what our communities can do when it comes to new and effective ways to reach populations for vaccination.”
Even small actions can have an impact. Parents and community members can make a point to talk about routine and recommended vaccinations. Health care providers can use electronic health records and immunization registries to remind parents to schedule well-child visits for children who may be overdue for a check-up.
It’s critical to improve and maintain high vaccination rates
In 2023:
~21 million children around the world were either unvaccinated or undervaccinated in 2023. 14.5 million children did not receive any vaccines, almost 2 million more than in 2019, according to UNICEF.
40% of adults in the U.S. feel it is “extremely important” for parents to have their children vaccinated, down from 58% in 2019 and 64% in 2001. (Gallup, July 1-21, 2024).
Persisting challenges around vaccination equity and confidence can lead to drops in vaccination coverage rates, putting children and individuals of all ages at risk of potentially serious, yet vaccine-preventable, diseases.
“Our purpose is clear: How can we continue to increase vaccination rates for all recommended vaccines for all populations, including underserved communities, to help protect public health? There is an urgency to this work,” said Otoo.
Health literacy is also key in these efforts. When you understand health information, you can make make informed health decisions.
“We’re surrounded by so much information coming at us from so many directions, and it can be hard to make sense of where to go for guidance or answers,” said Otoo. “It’s so important to make sure that we’re providing information that parents can understand to help them make informed decisions about vaccination for their families, as well as overall health care.”
For more than 100 years, Merck has been a pioneer in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. But the burden is still too high, and new threats to global health will emerge. That’s why we are continuing to invest in groundbreaking research and breakthrough technologies to help protect against a variety of potentially serious infectious diseases. We’re also collaborating globally, nationally and locally to build trust, enable access and improve vaccination rates.
We remain focused on helping to protect people around the world and across all stages of life.