All children should be immunized against dangerous diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and bacterial meningitis before they are two years old.

It's not just a national observance; the U.S. is joining together this week with 35 countries to concurrently promote the need for routine vaccinations for infants and children during this last week of April. Not all countries vaccinate their children. Mother of three, Ramona Johnston says "My sister actually lived over in Hong Kong, and over there they don't do the vaccines over there like we do."

Immunizations have reduced or in some cases totally eliminated diseases that have killed or disabled people just a few generations ago. For most parents like Ramona, immunizations are a normal part of their child's health care. "There's no way I would not have my children vaccinated."

Pediatrician Eric Jones says that the 2006 childhood and adolescent immunization schedule includes new recommendations that will help protect adolescents from meningitis, whooping cough and hepatitis A. "At 12 months hepatitis A. Now they're starting to kind of combine them, which is nice when you keep adding shots, you want to have less to give."

And of coarse immunizations like any medication, can cause side effects. However, a decision not to immunize a child also involves risk. Ramona adds "there's risks that you take but they're not as significant as if you didn't have them vaccinated, so the risks are higher if you don't have them vaccinated and it's just, I'm not going to take that chance with him."

Is your child up-to-date with their vaccinations? By making sure your child is immunized on schedule, you are getting them the best protection available.

And with the new guidelines for the Hepatitis A vaccine, for children who have not been vaccinated at 12-months, parents should talk to their doctor about having them vaccinated during the pre-school years.