Immunizations and Vaccines for Children

Immunizations and Vaccines for Children

Immunizations protect us from serious diseases and also prevent the spread of those diseases to others. Over the years immunizations have thwarted epidemics of once common infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, and tetanus. And because of immunizations we've seen the near eradication of others, such as polio and smallpox.  Immunizations, also called vaccines, safely and effectively use a small amount of a weakened virus or bacteria to prevent infection by that very virus or bacteria.  When you get an immunization, you're injected with a weakened form of (or a fragment of) a disease. This triggers your body's immune response, causing it to produce antibodies to that particular ailment.

Why Should Your Child Get Immunized?

The goal of public health is to prevent disease. It's much easier and more cost-effective to prevent a disease rather than treat it. That's exactly what immunizations aim to do.  Some vaccines need to be given only once; others require updates or "boosters" to maintain successful immunization and continued protection against disease.

How Effective Are Immunizations?

Vaccines are very effective at preventing disease, but they don't work all the time. According to the CDC, most of the recommended childhood immunizations are 90%-100% effective.  However, sometimes a child will not become fully immunized against a disease after receiving a vaccine. In cases where a vaccine has not given your child 100% immunity and then are exposed to an infectious disease, their symptoms may be milder than if they had not been immunized at all.

Which Immunizations Do My Children Need?

Because proof of immunization is often a prerequisite for enrollment in school or day care, it's important to keep your children up to date on their vaccines. The recommended immunizations for children 0-6 years of age include:

·         Hepatitis B

·         Rotavirus

·         Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis

·         Haemophilus influenzae type B

·         Pneumococcal

·         Inactivated poliovirus

·         Influenza

·         Measles, mumps, rubella

·         Varicella

·         Hepatitis A

·         Meningococcal (for certain high-risk groups)

It's important to keep your child's immunizations on schedule and up to date, but if your child misses a scheduled dose he or she can "catch up" later, but should be done in a timely manner.  The complete updated schedule of immunizations for children ages 0-18 can be downloaded from the CDC web site.

Can Immunizations Cause Side Effects?

Today, vaccines are considered quite safe. As with any medication, they can have side effects, which are in most cases usually quite mild. Most common minor reactions to an immunization are:

·         Soreness or redness around the injection site

·         Low-grade fever

Side effects like these usually disappear in a few days. In extremely rare instances a high fever, in excess of 104 degrees, can occur with a vaccine.  Children have also been known to have serious allergic reactions to a vaccine. These usually happen very soon after getting the vaccine, and doctors' offices are well equipped to handle such reactions. If you think your child has or may have an allergy to any component in a vaccine, be sure to share that information with your doctor.  Medical providers generally agree that the proven preventive benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks of the minimal side effects associated with them. More information about vaccine side effects and precautions can be found in the CDC's brochure Parents Guide to Childhood Immunizations.

Vaccine Myths and Misinformation

We don't need to vaccinate against rare diseases

Few parents today have even heard of all of the diseases we vaccinate against, let alone seen a case of the measles, polio or diptheria.  It is these very vaccines that are keeping these illnesses so rare. Avoiding having your child immunized because of myths and misinformation about vaccine safety puts your child -- and public health -- at risk.

The preservative thimerosal makes vaccines risky

Another concern about vaccines involves the use of a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal.  Thimerosal has been used as a preserving agent in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s. According to the CDC, no harmful effects have been reported from the amount of thimerosal used in vaccines, other than expected minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site.  In July 1999, the Public Health Service (PHS) agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and vaccine manufacturers agreed to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as a precautionary measure.  With the exception of some flu vaccines, no U.S. vaccines used to protect preschool children against infectious disease contain thimerosal as a preservative. A preservative-free version of the inactivated flu vaccine (containing trace amounts of thimerosal) is available.

Vaccines cause autism

Because symptoms of autism usually occur around the same time as the first measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and other immunizations, some have assumed that there is a link between thimerosal and autism.  However, the MMR vaccines have never contained thimerosal, and neither have the vaccines for chickenpox or inactivated polio. In 2004, an Institutes of Medicine report concluded that there is no association between autism and vaccines that contained thimerosal as a preservative.  Diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella can cause serious health problems, disabilities, and even death. Your children face a much greater risk from an infectious disease than they do from its vaccine.

** Information for this blog was taken from Web MD, http://children.webmd.com/vaccines/immunizations-vaccines-power-of-preparation