By: Denise Swain CPNP
Why Should I Vaccinate My Child?
As parents, you want to do what is best for your children. You know the importance of car seats, baby gates, cabinet latches, bike helmets and other ways to keep them safe. But one of the best ways to protect your children is to make sure they are vaccinated. Vaccinating your children according to the recommended schedule is one of the best ways you can protect them from harmful and deadly diseases.
Most parents have never seen the devastating effects of Polio, Measles or Whooping Cough (Pertussis). It’s easy to think of these as a disease of the past. The truth is they still exist!!! This year the United States is experiencing a record number of reported measles cases and large outbreaks of Whooping Cough (Pertussis).
Vaccines are among the safest and most cost-effective way to prevent disease. Every dose of vaccine is important because they all protect against infectious diseases that are threats today. These diseases can especially be serious for infants and very young children.
What If I Don’t Vaccinate My Child?
Immunizations can save your family time and money! A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied school attendance and daycare attendance. These preventable diseases can result in prolonged disabilities and even death. They can also take a financial toll because of loss of work, medical bills or long-term disability care. For instance, the yearly flu vaccine can prevent your child from getting the flu. If your child comes down with the flu, your child has missed days at school, you have missed days at work for taking care of sick child, medical bills, and potential for complications from the flu: pneumonia, ear infection, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical condition such as asthma and diabetes, which prolongs and complicates the illness.
You can’t predict or know in advance if your unvaccinated child will get a vaccine-preventable disease, nor can you predict or know how severe the illness will be or become. Many of these diseases are spread through the air or direct contact with an infected individual. Vaccines contain ingredients called antigens, which cause the body to develop immunity. Vaccines also contain very small amounts of other ingredients, all of which play a necessary role either in making the vaccine or in ensuring that the vaccine is safe and effective. Parents, please talk to your healthcare provider about your vaccine questions and concerns. At Cobb Pediatrics, we want to keep your children safe and well and we strongly believe that we can do that with keeping your children up to date on their vaccines.
If you would like to learn more about vaccines you can check the CDC’s website for parents.
