Importance of Immunizations

Next to hand washing, immunizations (vaccinations) against disease have been one of the best advances in public health. Americans today enjoy much better health than ever before, due in large part to being vaccinated against sickness.

Because I have been a health educator for over 20 years, I firmly believe in the importance of receiving immunizations as recommended by the medical community.

Years ago, the following words would strike fear into the hearts of parents:  polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough.

Today, thanks to timely vaccinations, children do not usually have to suffer from these life changing illnesses.  I remember having the mumps as a child; my salivary glands hurt tremendously, and they swelled so much that I had chipmunk cheeks.  Not only that, my brother had them at the same time.  My poor mother had two very sick children to attend to for what seemed like forever.

Thank goodness, mumps have all but disappeared, and other illnesses, such as polio have as well; however, because some parents have become scared of getting their children vaccinated, some diseases have resurfaced.  One in particular has made a fierce come back – whooping cough.  In my area of the country, families are again worried whether their infant will catch this dreaded disease.  Although not usually a killer in adults, whooping cough in very young children can actually steal their breath, causing major problems with breathing.

As you can see, having babies immunized at the correct time, with the correct amount of doses remains important.  Rumors, such vaccines can cause autism, have done nothing but weaken our health system.  For instance, I know one college educated woman with three young children – none of whom have been immunized.  She feels that exposing her kids to the pain of shots isn’t worth it, as the diseases being guarded against have disappeared.

What she doesn’t realize – these potentially fatal illnesses have only been kept at bay because of American’s being inoculated against them.  If too many parents stop having their children vaccinated, then they may once again cause untold misery for hundreds of thousands of children.

In order to understand this, think of people as “hosts” for illness.  If all children are vaccinated, then these diseases have no hosts, yet if more and more kids are not receiving the shots they should, then these predators have more hosts to live in.  It’s a terrible cycle that Americans must still guard themselves against.

Just because we don’t currently see neighborhood children with polio, doesn’t mean that we should become complacent.  On the contrary, we need to remain vigilant.  We need to continue to guard against a resurgence of childhood diseases by properly immunizing all infants, toddlers, and children.  And, we, as adults need to get booster shots as needed.

The good thing is that cost need not be a factor.  If a parent can not afford to obtain immunizations at the doctor’s office, vaccinations are available for low or no cost at local public health departments.

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