Vaccines save lives and protect against the spread of disease. If you decide not to immunize your child, you put your child at risk. Your child could catch a disease that is dangerous or deadly. Getting vaccinated is much better than getting the disease. Your pediatrician knows that you care about your child’s health and safety. That’s why you need to get all the scientific facts from a medical professional you can trust before making any decisions based on stories you may have seen or heard on TV, the Internet, or from other parents. Your pediatrician cares about your child too and wants you to know that…
Working mechanisms of vaccines. Vaccines keep children healthy and have saved millions of lives for more than 50 years. Most childhood vaccines are 90% to 99% effective in preventing disease. And if a vaccinated child does get the disease, the symptoms are usually less serious than in a child who hasn’t been vaccinated. There may be mild side effects, like swelling where the shot was given, but they do not last long. And it is rare for side effects to be serious.
Vaccines are safe. Today’s vaccines are safer than any in history. Vaccines contain antigens, which are either live but very weakened viruses, inactivated viruses, or small parts of bacteria or viruses that prompt the body to produce protective antibodies without causing the disease. Even though children receive more vaccines now, the total number of antigens is less because today’s vaccines are more refined than older versions. At a very young age, children’s immune systems are equipped to respond to many antigens at the same time, including those in vaccines as well as the ones they encounter in their daily activities such as eating, breathing and playing.
In addition to antigens, vaccines contain ingredients to prevent contamination and improve effectiveness. These ingredients have been found to be safe in humans in the quantities given in vaccines, which is much less than children are exposed to in their environment, food and water. Valid scientific studies have shown there is no link between autism and thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in several vaccines (and still used in some flu vaccine). However, since thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines in 2001, autism rates have actually increased, supplying further evidence that thimerosal does not cause autism.
Before a vaccine is licensed, it is studied in thousands of children and in combination with other vaccines. After licensure, the government continues to monitor a vaccine’s safety. This continuous monitoring ensures researchers will uncover any rare side effects, even if they affect only a small number of children. Today’s recommended vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective for millions of children.
All vaccines must be tested by the Drug control authorities. The authorities will not let a vaccine be given unless it has been proven to be safe and to work well in children. The data get reviewed again by concerned authorities before a vaccine is officially recommended to be given to children. Also, the DA monitors where and how vaccines are made. The places where vaccines are made must be licensed. They are regularly inspected and each vaccine lot is safety-tested.
Vaccines are necessary. Your pediatrician believes that your children should receive all recommended childhood vaccines. In the India, vaccines have protected children and continue to protect children from many diseases. However, in many parts of the world many vaccine-preventable diseases are still common.
Also, children with certain health problems may not be able to get some vaccines or may need to get them later. Since each child is different, your child’s doctor will know what is best for your child. You should get information about each vaccine at the doctor’s office. Ask your child’s doctor if you don’t understand what you’ve read.
Importance of vaccines. Immunizations protect children from life-threatening diseases and decrease morbidity and mortality. Vaccine-preventable diseases can have dangerous consequences, including seizures, brain damage, blindness, and even death. Because of the success of the national immunization program, many young parents today have never seen a case of one of these illnesses, but measles, meningitis, chickenpox, pertussis, and other diseases exist in the world and would re-emerge here if immunization rates fell.
Is it okay to delay or skip vaccines? It is not a good idea to skip or delay vaccines, as this will leave your child vulnerable to diseases for a longer time. Children are most vulnerable to complications from the disease in their early years of life when vaccines provide protection, and some vaccines produce a better immune response at particular ages. Parents should follow the schedule provided by the Pediatricians which is designed by experts to ensure maximum protection and safety for children at various ages. This schedule allows for some flexibility to delay certain shots when advised by a child’s pediatrician due to illness, certain chronic conditions, or other medical reasons. Parents should discuss any concerns with their child’s pediatrician.
Nowadays, the old concept of optional word from vaccines has been deleted. All children should get the benefit of protection from vaccine-preventable diseases especially those which are common to that region. IAP (Indian Academy of Pediatrics) reviews the recommendations regularly. Currently, DPT (Diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus), IPV, Hib, Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, OPV, MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Chicken Pox, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, HPV(cervical cancer). There are certain vaccines like Influenza, meningococcal, etc are to be given in certain indications or during epidemics of these diseases.
NOTE: To make sure the vaccine continues to be safe, the FDA and the CDC created the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). All doctors must report serious side effects of vaccines to VAERS so they can be studied. Parents can also file reports with VAERS. For more information about VAERS, visit www.vaers.hhs.gov or call the toll-free VAERS information line at 800/822–7967.
Based on VAERS reports, vaccine safety professionals continuously look for any problem with a vaccine, study the problem, and decide what to do. And if there is a problem, changes are made as soon as possible. For example,
If a vaccine is no longer safe, it is no longer given.
If there are new side effects, safety alerts are sent out to your health care providers.
Another way the CDC checks vaccine safety is by studying information about side effects collected from 8 large insurance companies. The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) helps identify if there are any serious problems or safety issues from the records of thousands of children.
In the rare case that a child has serious side effects to a vaccine, parents can contact the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) at 800/338–2382 or www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation. This federal program was created to help pay for the care of people who have been harmed.
Resources:
American Academy of Pediatrics
Food and Drug Administration
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Network for Immunization Information
