Vaccines For Kids

Vaccines for Kids
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Imagine a life without diseases. A life where one will not have to care about Medicare or medical bills. It would be a life where one of the last things to worry about would be health. What a wonderful life it would be. Unfortunately, we have to face the reality. Fighting diseases is something that each one has to face at a certain point in their life. In the past and recent years, more and more diseases have continued to emerge. Fortunately, some of these diseases can be prevented through vaccinations. However, not all the people are for the vaccination especially when it is for their kids. Some opponents have claimed that some of the vaccines have resulted in negative side effects. Hence, this raises questions as to whether all the vaccines are safe and if so, what should be done to convince parents to take their children for vaccinations.
A healthy society and family is everyone’s dream. A vaccine is a biological antigenic prepared substance that provides acquired immunity against particular diseases. Immunity fights the foreign invaders called antigens by producing antibodies. Children below the age of 5 have a 99.8 percent chance of contracting communicable diseases since their antibodies are foreign from the mothers and hence the immune system is still evolving. Vaccinations are essential in reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of infectious diseases. Such diseases include measles, diphtheria, tetanus, childhood tuberculosis, pertussis, and poliomyelitis.

Protecting a child against infections is proportional to protecting the whole community. This is true because some diseases are contagious and hence if a child is infected, they might transmit the same to other siblings and family members and the community at large. Imagine how it would feel to have a sick child or even to lose them because of a disease that could have otherwise been prevented. What about developing an irreversible paralysis? It would be such a painful experience that would leave one in regrets. Is it worth the risk? Some parents have refused to take children for immunization due to some misleading information that certain vaccines lead to autism and inflammatory bowel disease (van der Zeijst, 2011). Such information aims at spreading a dangerous anti-vaccine philosophy. Hence, where in the past years only rare cases of diseases such as measles were being reported, such cases are now increasing at an alarming rate. Several factors contribute to the decline of the number of kids being immunized.
The World Health Organization has been on the forefront in ensuring that all kids are immunized. In 1990, the organization hit its target of full vaccination 80 percent of all children in the world. This saved the lives of 3.5 million children in developing countries. 85% immunization in the world is a great achievement though much has to be done to reach 95 percent to ensure worldwide protection. The immunization rate has increased by only 1% since 2010. Immunization prevents approximately 2 to 3million deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases every year (Life expectancy worldwide up by six years since 1990, says WHO, 2015). However, if the global coverage could be improved, it is estimated that another 1.5 million deaths worldwide could be avoided. Such a great number, isn’t it? In 2016, 130 countries had 90% coverage immunization against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3). According to WHO, deaths from measles a number one killer disease declined by 79 percent between 2000 and 2015. The rate declined by 85% in developing countries between the same years. This is enough evidence to show that vaccines are safe and the best way to protect a child from infectious diseases. It is unfortunate that estimates of 19.5 million children across the world are still missing the basic vaccines.
If the goal of vaccinating more than 90 percent of the children in the world were to be achieved, then the first step would be to educate the health workers on the importance of the vaccination. How would a person who does not understand the value of something invest their effort in being committed to it? Practically, it does not make any sense. Reasons, why some parents refuse to immunize their children, is due to a misconception of information. The parents have to weigh the risks associated with the effects of the vaccine and the risks of the child contracting a disease due to lack of immunization. It is the role of the medics to educate the parents on the significance of the vaccines since they are the most trusted while it comes to making decisions on matters related to vaccines. It is their role to ensure that the myths from the anti-vaccines proponents do not corrode the minds of parents. Failure to answer the parent’s or the patient’s questions on the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccine affects the rate of immunization. Recommendations from health care providers are likely to result in a high turnout level while unsatisfactory information leads to low immunization rates. But how would they do so if they also do not have the necessary information? The attitude of the physician is also critical. If a physician is too resolute on the benefits of the vaccine, they may seem to have hidden motives while vagueness may indicate problems related to the vaccine. Hence, it is important to equip the health workers with proper knowledge through educational programs to improve their awareness and to change their attitudes. This is especially crucial when a new vaccine is introduced or when there are modifications (Institute of Medicine, Institute of Medicine, 2002).
Parents have also hindered the successful immunization of kids. Some forget the scheduled dates of the vaccination while others complain about the cost of the vaccines. However, it will be sad for a parent to skip an immunization due to cost since it will be more expensive to treat the disease. Furthermore, most vaccines are given free of charge. Most parents are not aware of the importance of vaccine-preventable diseases and the safety provided by the vaccines marketed. This is because most of these diseases have already been eradicated by the vaccinations and hence, are rarely heard or mentioned. The parents consider such vaccination to be unnecessary since the effects have already been minimized. Also, in some cases, some children have suffered from the diseases being prevented by the vaccines with no serious clinical problems. Some are also adamant to vaccines that are meant to prevent future chances of occurrence of a disease such as HPV. Hence, some opt to face the effects of such diseases rather than taking their kids for immunization.
Immunizations have saved the lives of so many children. In the past, diseases such as polio and measles were number one killer in the United States. Polio is also known to have paralyzed thousands of children (Andre et al., 2008). Since the immunization was started, these diseases have become almost extinct. Other such diseases have also been eliminated, and others eradicated. This is due to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. The vaccines are carefully reviewed by healthcare professionals and scientists before they are administered to the public. Although there may be some discomforts, pain, redness, and tenderness after vaccination, these effects are minimal while compared to the effects the diseases being prevented could cause. Vaccination saves money since dealing with the effect of the vaccine-preventable diseases can be costly. For example, polio is known to cause disabilities. This means that one will have to spend most of their time taking care of the disabled person. It is unethical for a parent to deny their kids’ immunization as this may lead to the development of complications.
In conclusion, taking one’s child for all vaccinations is the best way of protecting their children. Vaccinations are safe and effective. They have reduced by a great number the morbidity and mortality rate. Lack of immunization may lead to disability among children. However, one cannot force parents to have their children vaccinated. Hence, it is important to disseminate all the necessary information to ensure that they make the correct choices. It is also important to ensure that the information is given in the right way so that the parents and patients do not feel like there are hidden motives behind the vaccination. Hence, the information given should be reliable and have some scientific evidence to build trust with the public. There has been no single evidence that has linked vaccinations to the claimed side effects of autism, bowel diseases, and MMR. All kids should be fully immunized to give them a better life.

References
Andre, F., Booy, R., Bock, H., Clemens, J., Datta, S., & John, T. et al. (2008). Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death, and inequity worldwide. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization, 86(2), 140-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/blt.07.040089
Institute of Medicine, C., & Institute of Medicine, D. (2002). Setting the Course. Washington: National Academies Press.
Life expectancy worldwide up by six years since 1990, says WHO. (2015). The Pharmaceutical Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.1211/pj.2015.20068553
van der Zeijst, B. (2011). Fascination for vaccination: About achievements and challenges in the vaccine world. Human Vaccines, 7(2), 144-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.7.2.15131