Dr Pankaj Sharma Pathankot News — Article Published on Bhaskar Epaper
Enlightening parents about the benefits of Vaccination for kids — ARTICLE By Dr. Pankaj Sharma Hospital, Published Bhaskar News on 10–09–2022
Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child
You want to do what is best for your children. You know the importance of car seats, baby gates, and other ways to keep them safe. But did you know that one of the best ways to protect your children is to make sure they have all of their vaccinations?
Immunizations can save your child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. As a result, some conditions that once injured or killed thousands of children have been eliminated, and others are close to extinction — primarily due to safe and effective vaccines. Polio is one example of the significant impact that vaccines have had in the United States. Polio was once America’s most-feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country, but today, thanks to vaccination, there are no reports of polio in the United States.
Vaccination is very safe and effective. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals. Vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at the injection site, but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent. Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reactions, are rare. The disease-prevention benefits of vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.
Immunization protects others you care about. Unfortunately, children in the U.S. still get vaccine-preventable diseases. Over the past few years, we have seen resurgences in measles and whooping cough (pertussis). Since 2010, there have been between 10,000 and 50,000 cases of whooping cough each year in the United States. About 10 to 20 babies die each year, many of whom were too young to be fully vaccinated. While some babies are too young to be protected by vaccination, others may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions like leukemia, or other reasons. To help keep them safe, you and your children who can get vaccinated must be fully immunized. This protects your family and helps prevent the spread of these diseases to your friends and loved ones.
Immunizations can save your family time and money. For example, a child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or childcare facilities. In addition, some vaccine-preventable conditions can result in prolonged disabilities and take a financial toll because of lost time at work, medical bills, or long-term disability care. In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and is usually covered by insurance. The Vaccines for Children program is federally funded and provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families.
To learn more about the VFC program, visit https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/parents or ask your child’s health care professional.
Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few ages ago. For example, the smallpox vaccination eradicated that disease worldwide. Your children no longer have to get smallpox shots because the condition no longer exists. Likewise, by vaccinating children against rubella (German measles), the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their fetus or newborn has been dramatically decreased, and congenital disabilities associated with that virus are no longer seen in the United States. Suppose we continue vaccinating now and vaccinating completely. In that case, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children.
For more information about National Infant Immunization Week, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/index.html.
