Vaccines 101: Why Your Child Should Be Immunized
One of the most important measures in keeping your child safe and healthy is to make sure that they are completely immunized. In order to give them the right protection against deadly diseases, having the right information about the importance of vaccines is necessary. Vaccines can save millions of lives, including your child’s life, and knowing how they work will help you make more informed decisions regarding your child’s health.
What is a vaccine, and how do they work?
When a child is infected with a disease for the first time, the body’s immune system produces antibodies that fight the disease, but because this can take time, the child can still get sick. However, the immune system “remembers” the disease and develops an immunity against it, so the next time it enters the body again, the immune system can produce antibodies fast enough to fight it off.
A vaccine is a substance that helps your child’s body develop an immunity against preventable diseases without waiting for your child to get sick for the first time. It contains a dead or weak part of the disease that allows the child’s immune system to produce antibodies without actually having to get sick.
What are the benefits of immunizing my child?
It can save your child from deadly diseases. Because of vaccines, diseases that were common and deadly (smallpox, polio, German measles, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria) are now a thing of the past. Vaccines were created to help your child develop immunity against diseases that would have made him/her sick.
It protects other people in the community. There are people that are unable to receive immunizations, such as those who are allergic to some components of the vaccine, children who are too young to be immunized, or those whose immune system are too weak. Immunizing your child will help protect other people from diseases that could spread from one person to another.
It is safe and effective. The notion that vaccines are harmful and cause autism and other chronic diseases is a myth. Many parents are refusing to have their child immunized based on erroneous information, which is a concept that should be stopped. Vaccines are safe and effective; scientists, doctors, and other researchers spend a lot of time studying and reviewing vaccines before recommending that they be given to children. Although it causes pain, redness, and tenderness upon injection, it is just a minor and short-term discomfort compared to the devastating effects of the disease that it prevents.
It prevents costly expenses. Hospitalization costs are quite expensive, not to mention the time and energy it requires in taking care of a sick family member. The cost of preventing the disease rather than curing it is more cost-effective, so immunizing your child prevents the incurrence of medical bills. Vaccines are also usually covered by insurance.
Still have questions?
Don’t hesitate to ask. Make sure you ask Dr. Leung if you have questions regarding vaccines that are giving you doubts about immunizing your child. Resurgence of uncommon diseases like measles and pertussis (whooping cough) has occurred in recent years due to increased rates of non-immunization. Vaccines can help keep our little ones safe and healthy, so ensure you gather all the correct information and make a wise, informed decision.Call now to our appointment office!
More information may be found through the following link:
https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons/index.html