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Childhood Immunizations

© Karen Cabiac

In the late 1800s, and early 1900s doctors began vaccinating large groups of people in the hope of saving lives. Thankfully, this has certainly been accomplished. Presently, the goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to eradicate both polio and measles. One of the diseases which has already met eradication is smallpox. To learn more about the history of vaccinations and world wide erradication goals check out http://www.who.int/gpv-dvacc/history/history.htm Many of us who have grown up receiving immunizations do not even realize how dangerous these diseases are, much less understand the terror that struck past generations at the mention of an outbreak.

Of the vaccinations infants and children receive, some are toward viruses and some are toward bacterial infections. As healthy individuals, we come in contact with various organisms all day long - particularly if we live around and work with large numbers of people. When our bodies are well nourished, rested, and strong we can "fight" off many diseases that we may come in contact with. The fact that we have come in contact with these diseases and "fought" them off demonstrates that our bodies are capable of making "antibodies." Antibodies are our bodies' way of attacking foreign material. This is the basic premise of vaccines (immunizations). When infants arrive in the world they emerge from an environment where they were largely protected from the disease-causing organisms that we encounter daily. However, once outside the womb, the infants are exposed to these organisms just as we are. Generally, an infant's immune system is not as strong as that of an adult. This is why it is very important to begin immunizations at this stage of development.

Physicians may determine that an infant should not be immunized if the infant has an immune deficiency, such as HIV/AIDS, or for some other health impairment that would cause harm to the infant. Other than these cases, it is wise for parents to have their children immunized and to follow an immunization schedule. Of course, any questions and/or concerns should be directed to your physician. Discuss any areas of concern that you may have. Ask questions and read information which is given to you regarding side effects and risks of immunizations.

It is very easy to take statistics and read them incorrectly. There are some concerned parents who fear that their child my get sick from these immunizations that are meant to protect. When looking at statistics, it is easy to say that there are more children being harmed by immunizations than dying from them. What it is important to look at is that we have very little cases of complications from immunizations compared to the number of children who die each year in countries where immunization programs are not as strong as they are in the developed countries. According to the WHO, 2,000,000 children die each year of these preventable diseases. Another 90,000 are left paralyzed by polio. Yes, there may be some temporary discomfort to your child but is this preferable to what may be if as parents we do not do our utmost to protect our children.

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