The Pulse

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“Are You Up-To-Date? —Vaccinate!”

Why are vaccinations still so important? According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of several vaccines recommended for children have declined during 2002, relative to previous years, and immunization rates among adolescents and adults remained well below the Healthy People 2010 goals. Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the twentieth century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the US, and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis, and other diseases. Despite these efforts, thousands of people in the US still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Thousands of deaths are caused by viral hepatitis, meningococcal, and pneumococcal infections, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, and influenza. Vaccines offer safe and effective protection from the burden of debilitating illness and death from such infectious diseases.

Why are immunizations important?

Immunization was one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the U.S. and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, today tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccines offer safe and effective protection from infectious diseases. By staying up-to-date on the recommended vaccines, individuals can protect themselves, their families and friends and their communities from serious, life-threatening infections.

Who should be immunized?

Getting immunized is a lifelong, life-protecting community effort regardless of age, sex, race, ethnic background or country of origin. Recommended vaccinations begin soon after birth and continue throughout life. Being aware of the vaccines that are recommended for infants, children, adolescents, adults of all ages and seniors, and making sure that we receive these immunizations, are critical to protecting ourselves and our communities from disease.

When are immunizations given?

Because children are particularly vulnerable to infection, most vaccines are given during the first five to six years of life. Other immunizations are recommended during adolescent or adult years and, for certain vaccines, booster immunization are recommended throughout life. Vaccines against certain diseases that may be encountered when traveling outside of the U.S. are recommended for travelers to specific regions of the world.

“Are You Up-To-Date? —Vaccinate!”

Facts and Myths

Unfortunately, misinformation about vaccines could make some parents decide not to immunize their child, putting him and others at a greater risk for illness. To better understand the benefits and risks of vaccines, here are a few common myths and the facts.

* The immunization will give my child the very disease the vaccine is supposed to prevent.

This is by far parents' greatest fear about vaccines. However, it is impossible to get the disease from any vaccine made with dead (killed) bacteria or viruses or just part of the bacteria or virus. Only those immunizations made from weakened (attenuated) live viruses - like the chicken pox (varicella) or measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine - could possibly make a child develop a mild form of the disease, but it is almost always much less severe than the illness that occurs when a person is infected with the disease-causing virus itself. The risk of disease from vaccination is extremely small.

* If all the other children in school are immunized, there's no harm in not immunizing my child.

It is true that a single child's chance of catching a disease is low if everyone else is immunized. Yet if one person thinks about skipping vaccines, chances are other people are thinking the same thing. And each child who is not immunized gives these highly contagious diseases one more chance to spread. This actually happened between 1989 and 1991 when an epidemic of measles broke out in the United States . Lapsing rates of immunization among preschoolers led to a sharp jump in the number of cases of measles, as well as the number of deaths and children with permanent brain damage. Similar outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) struck Japan and the United Kingdom in the 1970s after immunization rates declined.

* The vaccine isn't 100% effective, so I don't want to subject my child to a painful shot for nothing.

Few things in medicine work 100% of the time, but vaccines are one of the most effective weapons we have against disease - they work in 85% to 99% of cases. They greatly reduce your child's risk of serious illness (particularly when more and more people use them) and give diseases fewer chances to take hold in a population. It can be difficult to watch your child get a shot, but the fleeting pain is nothing compared to suffering through a potentially deadly bout of diphtheria, pertussis, or measles.

* Immunizations will give my child a bad reaction.

The most common reactions to vaccines are minor, including redness and swelling where the shot was given, fever, and rash. Although in rare cases immunizations can trigger seizures or severe allergic reactions, the risk of these is much lower than that of catching the disease if a child is not immunized. Every year millions of children are safely vaccinated, and almost all of them experience no significant side effects.

* My child does not need to be immunized because the disease has been eliminated.

Diseases that are rare or nonexistent in the United States , like polio and measles, still flourish in other parts of the world. Doctors continue to vaccinate against them because it is easy to come into contact with illnesses through travel. That includes anyone who may who may not be properly immunized coming into the United States, as well as Americans traveling overseas.

* My child does not need to be immunized if he's healthy, active, and eating well.

Vaccinations are intended to help keep healthy children healthy. Because vaccines work by protecting the body before disease strikes, if you wait until your child gets sick it will be too late for the vaccine to work. The best time to immunize your child is when he is healthy.