By DR. DAWN R.
MARCELLE | Region 2 Medical Director, LDH Office of Public Health
Keeping our children safe and healthy rank among the highest
of parents’ concerns — and where safety and health meet, the topic of vaccines will
often arise. While parents have the right to make decisions about their
children’s health, as a pediatrician and a mother of two, I can confidently say
without hesitation that overall, vaccines are safe and effective.
Vaccines are the best way to protect your child against a
number of illnesses, including measles, whooping cough (pertussis) and mumps,
all of which have made a comeback in recent years due to a drop in vaccination
rates. Other vaccine-preventable illnesses include tetanus, diphtheria, varicella
(chickenpox), rubella, hepatitis B, polio, meningococcal meningitis and
influenza, especially now with flu season in full swing across Louisiana.
How they work
A vaccine contains a version of the bacterium or virus
responsible for a particular disease. Vaccines can be live (containing a
weakened form of the bacterium or virus) or inactivated (containing a killed
version of the bacterium or virus).
For example; if you receive a chickenpox vaccine, the
presence of the chickenpox virus in the vaccine causes the body to think that
it’s under attack. This activates the immune system, which treats the weakened/dead
chickenpox virus (antigen) like a full-blown infection and makes antibodies to
fight off the disease. These chickenpox antibodies remain in the person’s
immune system, ready to provide active protection if you come into future contact
with live chickenpox virus.
Immunization
schedules
With so many vaccines out there, how is a parent to know
which vaccine is needed and when? That’s where immunization schedules are
helpful. Developed with your child’s safety in mind, immunization schedules show
which vaccines are given at which stages of your child’s life. Following such
schedules provides immunity early in life before most infants and children are
exposed to life-threatening diseases.
Vaccination schedules are developed by the CDC’s Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The committee includes physicians
and public health practitioners who are dedicated to keeping children safe and
healthy. All vaccines listed on immunization schedules have been exhaustively
tested to be sure they are safe and effective. Sometimes multiple vaccines will
be given at a single pediatric visit, and this is safe and normal. There’s not
enough antigens in vaccines to overload a healthy baby’s immune system. In
fact, during an average day a baby will encounter more antigens than they will
receive in a vaccine.
Some parents, expressing concern about the number of
vaccines their children receive from infancy to school age, may wish to follow
an alternative schedule that spreads out vaccines or even skips some entirely. This
practice is discouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends
parents follow established immunization schedules. These schedules are for your
child’s protection, and following them gives your child immunity early in life,
before they can be exposed to potentially deadly diseases like measles.
Keep in mind that some children can’t be vaccinated, such as
those with weakened immune systems due to an illness or medical treatment. The
best protection for these children is for everyone around them to be vaccinated
— that includes parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and any
caregivers.
Life savers
As a pediatrician, let me say once again that vaccines are
overwhelmingly proven safe and effective. I encourage parents to follow the
recommended immunization schedules to give their children the best possible
protection against a number of serious diseases.
The American Academy of Pediatrics considers vaccines to be
one of the the most significant medical innovations of our time. Considering
the countless lives saved thanks to vaccines, I couldn’t agree more.
Helpful links
- View the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunization schedule: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html
- View the State of Louisiana’s 2019 immunization schedule: https://lalinks.org/linksweb/pdf/Immunization%20Schedule_January%202019.pdf
- Review and print your child’s official immunization records at any time, free of charge: https://la.myir.net/
- Free vaccines for qualified children younger than 19 years of age: http://www.ldh.la.gov/index.cfm/page/3015
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