The purpose of vaccination is to teach your body to defend itself when invaded by a virus or bacteria. Once vaccinated, a person develops resistance against the germs and the serious health complications it may create. During vaccination, a small and safe amount of viruses or bacteria that are either weakened or inactivated is injected into your body. Entry of these pathogens teaches your immune system to recognize and fight against the infection when exposed to later in life.
Vaccines help protect against many diseases which were earlier very common and cause life-threatening complications. Some vaccinations have eradicated a few diseases.
Safety of vaccines
In general, there is a concern about the safety of vaccines, especially for children. Some parents choose to wait or even decide not to take the vaccination. However, the benefit of vaccination outweighs these concerns.
Vaccinations for mumps, measles, rubella, chickenpox, and nasal spray flu contain live but weakened viruses. People with weak immune systems should not be given these vaccinations. A pregnant woman should not receive these vaccines. A detailed discussion with the healthcare provider must be conducted before making a decision on vaccination.
Infant/Child/Teens Vaccination
Vaccines help protect infants, children, and teens from serious diseases. Vaccination during childhood helps develop long-term immunity. Getting your child vaccinated contributes to a healthy community which further helps your child’s younger siblings, older family members, and friends from getting sick.
Young children are at a higher risk of developing infections because their immune systems are yet to build up necessary defenses. Diseases like pneumococcal infection or a whooping cough, when contracted in childhood, may even prove to be fatal. Some vaccinations need to be administered over more than one dose, while some are single dose ones.
Adult vaccination
Every year, thousands of adults in the country are affected by diseases which could be prevented by vaccination. Apart from the childhood vaccinations, there are few other vaccines that are required to be taken during adulthood. This is because:
- Some vaccines are recommended only for adults who are at a higher risk of developing certain diseases like shingles.
- The effect of childhood vaccination wears off over time, so you need additional dosages to boost your immunity.
- You may have missed out on newer vaccines that were developed in the recent years
- Some viruses like the flu virus, change over time
Adult immunizations are determined by factors like their age, lifestyle, previous immunizations, health conditions and travel. The following vaccines are recommended for adults:
- Seasonal flu vaccine
- Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine for those who have not received the Tdap vaccine
- A shingles vaccine for healthy adults over the age of 50
- Pneumococcal vaccine for adults more than 65 years of age and older adults with risk conditions
- Hepatitis B vaccine for adults who have diabetes
- Human papillomavirus vaccine which can prevent certain cancers
It is important to ensure that your adult immunizations are up to date if you are pregnant or planning to conceive.
Immunization for travelers
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide detailed information about precautions and immunizations for travels to other countries. Depending on where you travel, you may come in contact with diseases that are rare in the country. Some vaccines may even be required by you for traveling to certain places.
