“Immunization helps the immune system carry out its work by protecting the body against future infections with viruses or bacteria that cause disease.”
Immunization helps the immune system carry out its work by protecting the body against future infections with viruses or bacteria that cause disease.
Nearly all vaccines are injected. Polio vaccine may be injected or taken orally. The immune system reacts to the vaccine in the same way that it would react to a virus or bacterium. It makes antibodies that, destroy the virus or bacterium from the vaccine, then stay in the body, providing it with immunity so that the body, if exposed the same virus or bacterium, will remember how to protect itself.
Children need to be vaccinated against 13 potentially serious diseases:
- Measles
Mumps
Rubella (or German measles)
Diphtheria
Tetanus (lack of jaw)
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Polio
Hemophilus influenza B
Hepatitis B
Varicella (chickenpox)
Hepatitis A
Pneumococcal disease
Tuberculosis
Diarrhea (rotavirus)
Children who do not respond to the vaccine depend on the immunity of those around them for protection. Infection could come from another child who had not been vaccinated but not from the one who has been vaccinated and developed immunity to the disease.
hVaccines need to be administered of an early age because the diseases they stop may strike at an early age and can be fatal.
They generally need to be given on time to achieve maximum protection. But it does not mean that if your child missed a schedule, you should forget the vaccination entirely. Vaccination would still work even if given a little late.
Most of the shots can be provided at any age and children do not have to start over if they have missed the scheduled dose. The shots that have already been given still count and the child will still develop immunity.
Children who don’t get vaccinated may contract the disease once exposed to the virus or bacterium. The consequences could be worse. At the very least children could get slightly ill and have to stay indoors for a few days. Or they could get very ill and require hospitalization.
Old as it is, the adage that prevention is better than cure is true as ever. And as far as preventing disease in children is concerned, one of the most effective ways is immunization.
Reactions
Immunizations are generally safe. In some cases, they may cause reactions, which are usually mild, such as a low fever or a sore arm. Serious reactions are not common but they may occur. Your child’s doctor can advise you on these.
There are also some special situations where vaccinations is not recommended, like when a child is suffering from certain kinds of cancer, or is taking medication that lowers the body’s ability to resist infection.
For example, the MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) vaccine should not be administered to children who have a serious allergy to eggs. In such cases, it is always important thing to keep in mind is that getting sick is always more dangerous than getting vaccinated.