The 12-Month Visit: MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis A and What to Write Down
The 12-month visit often brings several vaccines at once. Here is how to read that column of the CDC schedule and what to note down before you leave.
Published
The 12 month shots are the vaccine lines the CDC child and adolescent immunization schedule by age opens at the first birthday: first doses of MMR and varicella at 12 through 15 months, a first hepatitis A dose at 12 through 23 months, plus final or third doses of Hib, pneumococcal conjugate, hepatitis B and polio.
Key takeaways
- Three series start at 12 months on the CDC schedule: MMR dose 1 and varicella dose 1 (12 through 15 months) and hepatitis A dose 1 (12 through 23 months).
- Four series can finish in the same stretch: the last Hib dose, pneumococcal conjugate dose 4, and dose 3 of hepatitis B and polio (6 through 18 months).
- "12 through 15 months" is an age band, not an appointment: a child seen at 13 months is on time, not late.
- Hepatitis A dose 2 is due at least 6 months after dose 1, with no well-child visit attached to it — it is the dose families lose track of.
- Before leaving, write four fields per line: the vaccine name as printed, the date, the dose number, and whether a combination product such as MMRV was used.
That clinician chart carries an "Addendum updated July 2, 2025" line and is the document your practice works from; the pediatric office calls the same appointment the 12-month well-child visit. Nothing on the chart is labelled "12 month shots." It is built out of age bands, and several of those bands simply open at twelve months, which is most of why the column looks heavier than the ones before it.
What vaccines land at the 12-month visit?
Seven vaccine lines have a box that opens at or around twelve months on the CDC chart. Three of them are new; four are the last dose of something started in infancy.
| Vaccine | Age band on the CDC chart | Which dose |
|---|---|---|
| Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) | 12 through 15 months | Dose 1 of 2 |
| Varicella (chickenpox) | 12 through 15 months | Dose 1 of 2 |
| Hepatitis A | 12 through 23 months | Dose 1 of 2 |
| Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) | 12 through 15 months | Final dose of the series |
| Pneumococcal conjugate | 12 through 15 months | Dose 4 |
| Hepatitis B | 6 through 18 months | Dose 3 |
| Inactivated poliovirus (IPV) | 6 through 18 months | Dose 3 |
The individual CDC disease pages give the same ages in plainer words. The measles vaccination page, last reviewed April 29, 2026, puts the first MMR dose at "12–15 months old" and the second at "4–6 years old." The chickenpox vaccination page, last reviewed August 21, 2024, uses the identical pair of ages for varicella. The hepatitis A vaccination page, last reviewed January 31, 2025, recommends the vaccine for "all children 12–23 months old as part of routine childhood vaccination," with the two shots "at least 6 months apart."
Influenza sits outside that table. It became due at six months and returns every season after that, which is why a fall 12-month visit can include a flu vaccine that a spring one does not — the seasonal side of it is covered in how the flu shot works for a whole household.
Why the chart shows a range instead of a date
Because the recommendation is an age band, not an appointment. "12 through 15 months" means the dose is due somewhere inside that stretch, and a child seen at thirteen months is on time, not late.
The band also explains why two children in the same playgroup can have different-looking records. One practice books the MMR and varicella doses at the 12-month visit; another holds them to the 15-month visit and gives the Hib and pneumococcal finals at twelve. Both sit inside the CDC band. The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes its own 2026 immunization schedules for birth through 6 years, which is worth knowing if your practice cites the AAP rather than the CDC at the desk.
Hepatitis A has the widest band of the group, 12 through 23 months, and its second dose is defined by an interval rather than an age. A child who gets dose one at thirteen months is due for dose two after six months have passed, which lands the follow-up in the middle of the second year with no well-child visit attached to it. That is the dose families lose track of.
Where the 12-month doses differ from the infant series
The 12 month shots are not a smaller copy of the 2-, 4- and 6-month appointments. Three differences matter for the record you keep.
- New series start here. MMR, varicella and hepatitis A each have a second dose still to come, at 4 through 6 years for the first two and six months later for the third.
- Some series end here. The Hib and pneumococcal conjugate lines finish in this band. After that, those names should stop appearing on the record.
- Combination products change the arithmetic. MMRV puts measles, mumps, rubella and varicella into one injection. Four disease names, one needle, and a record line that reads differently from a household that received MMR and varicella separately — what combination vaccines do to a record works through the naming.
Rotavirus, by contrast, is finished. Its window closes well before the first birthday, which is why it does not appear anywhere in the twelve-month column even for a child who never completed it. The infant stretch that precedes all of this is laid out in the 2, 4 and 6 month visits.
What to write down before you leave
Do it in the parking lot, while the after-visit paperwork is still in your hand. Four fields carry the whole record: the vaccine name exactly as printed, the date, the dose number if it is shown, and whether a combination product was used.
Then check one thing that the paperwork will not tell you: which second doses are now pending, and roughly when. A hepatitis A dose two is the usual answer, and it is due on an interval rather than at a birthday.
Whatever you keep that in should survive a phone upgrade and a change of pediatrician. Vaxnext, the free app for iPhone and Android published by the people who write this blog, is one option: a folder per family member with no cap on how many, and a reminder for a hepatitis A second dose that fires from the phone itself, offline and with no account behind it. The app is free because it carries AdMob ads, declared as such on Google Play and kept off the record screens.
This article is general information about how the CDC chart is laid out, not medical advice; which doses your child is due for is a question for your pediatrician. It covers the twelve-month column only — not the 15 to 18-month doses, not state school requirements, and not what to do about a reaction, which is a call to the clinic or to emergency care.
FAQ
How many shots are given at the 12-month visit?
There is no fixed number, and the CDC chart does not name one. Seven vaccine lines have bands open at or near twelve months, but some may already be complete, some may be held to the 15-month visit, and a combination product such as MMRV can put four disease names into a single injection. Two to four injections is the common range. The practice decides on the day.
Can the 12-month vaccines be split across two visits?
Often, yes, and the age bands are what make it possible: most of these doses are due across 12 through 15 months rather than on the first birthday. Splitting adds a trip and a second chance to forget one, so it is a trade rather than a free choice. Ask the office to write down which doses were deferred and when they are expected, then record both lines at home.