As COVID-19 infections decline in Massachusetts, experts are pushing a well-worn message: get vaccinated.

The jabs prevent severe illness more effectively than immunity gained from a recent COVID infection. If you contracted the virus recently, know that infection-induced immunity “doesn't seem to last long,” according to Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. 

That’s why it’s important to get the shot. “The ideal way to get that immunity is to be vaccinated because you’re then acquiring the immunity without the risks of infection and without something that you can transmit to other vulnerable folks,” said Harvard epidemiologist William Hanage.

On that note, shots for very young kids — between 2 and 5 years old — could be available by the end of the month. Here’s what you need to know about the timeline. 

That said, vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds haven’t been adopted as rapidly as some hoped. Only 51 percent of Massachusetts children in that group had gotten at least one shot, compared to about 31 percent nationally, according to Department of Public Health data released last week.