INTRODUCTION

Vaccination is a way through which you can guard your child against all the life-threatening diseases. Many children suffer and face death due to lack of vaccinations. The evolution of vaccines has made them even more safe and effective for adults as well as children. Vaccination is the best way to prevent diseases which can cause future disabilities in children. Proper vaccination schedule will not only save our future generation but will also our time and money.Find the IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION AND IT’S SCHEDULE IN CHILDREN.

MECHANISM OF VACCINES- HOW VACCINES PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE

Role of the vaccine is to guard our body against diseases and infections. When an organism (bacterium or virus) is external to the body, the immune system senses the organism and responds back by generating proteins named antibodies. Antibodies fight the contamination and help the person to get well.

Antibodies also work to avert a person from becoming sick in the later stages. If a person is exposed to the virus once more, the immune system identifies it and quickly produces more of the antibodies necessary to put an end to the organism. This retort shields the individual from getting affected by the disease, preferably for life. Vaccines work by encouraging the immune system to yield antibodies. There are 2 main types of vaccines: active and passive.  

• Active vaccines

— Active vaccines use a slayed or faded form of the dangerous bacteria or virus to encourage the immune system. Some of these vaccines are polio, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), pertussis, etc.

• Passive vaccines

— Passive vaccines deliver short-term immunity using antibodies attained from a large pool of contributors; the preparation is identified as immune serum globulin. Passive vaccines offer a temporary defence to children or grown-ups who have been exposed to the unambiguous organism. An example of a passive vaccine includes Hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG).

VACCINATION SCHEDULE–

Find the vaccination chart required for your children at different stages.

• CHICKEN POX

-Two doses: 1. First dose- 12 to 15 months and 2. Second dose- 4 to 6 years.

• DIPHTHERIA, TETANUS AND WHOOPING COUGH

– Five doses: 1. 1st dose-2 months, 2. 2nd dose-4 months, 3. 3rd dose-6months, 4. 4th dose-15 to 18 months, 5. 5th dose-4 to 6 years.

• MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA

– Two doses: 1. 1st dose- 12 to 15 months and 2. 2nd dose- 4 to 6 years.

• POLIO

-Four doses: 1. 1st dose-2months, 2. 2nd dose-4 months, 3. 3rd dose-6to18 months and 4. 4th dose-4 to 6 years.

• INFLUENZA

It is given to children who are 6years or older than that, generally, two doses of it are given to children, but a healthcare provider should be consulted before giving the dosage.

• MENINGOCOCCAL

-Children from the age group of 0 to 10 years with certain health conditions require this vaccine. PNEUMOCOCCAL-Four doses: 1. 1st dose-2 months, 2. 2nd dose-4 months, 3. 3rd dose-6 months, 4. 4th dose-12 to 15 months. BCG– Given at the time of birth.

• HEPATITIS B

– Given at the time of birth, 1. 1st dose-4 weeks and 2. 2nd dose-8weeks.

• HEPATITIS A

– Two doses, 1st year, 6 months.

• HPV

– Children under the age of 9 to 14 years.

INDIAN IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMME

Universal Immunization Program (UIP) is a scheme by the Government of India. Primarily underneath this program, the government provides vaccines for 7 ailments. These ailments are polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, hepatitis B, and childhood tuberculosis.

The program began in 1985 expanding its services of routine immunization (RI) in all the states of India. UIP also introduces new vaccines in the country’s immunization program. The Government of India often joins forces with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to progress and regularly develop and improve its vaccination program and extend it to all parts of the nation.

REFUSAL TO VACCINES:

Do you know still people refuse to get their children vaccinated. Find the reasons below:

• The religious point of view-

It is the most common reason for parents to refuse vaccines, as they think getting their children immunized can violate their religious tenets. Many vaccines have gelatin content in it which is a matter of concern for them.

• Personal or Philosophical Reasons-

Many people believe that instead of exposing their child’s body to chemicals it’s better not to get vaccinated. Many parents also think that healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent diseases so they avoid immunization or delay it.

• Concerns for safety-

Vaccines are generally water with antigens, but they require extra constituents to even out the solution or upsurge the vaccine’s efficiency. Parents show concern about mercury as some vaccines used to encompass the preservative thimerosal, which disrupts into ethyl mercury. Investigators now know that ethyl mercury doesn’t collect in the body — like methylmercury, the neurotoxin found in many fishes. But thimerosal has been detached from all infant inoculations since 2001 as a security.

• Vaccines safeguard children and adults –

Many parents are worried about the dangers of vaccines. However, vaccines have a good record of being safe and have an effective way of averting illness. In most cases, the profits of vaccinating a child are far better than any possible dangers. Ailments such as diphtheria and measles were common at one time but dropped because of defensive immunization. In spite of the accessibility of vaccines to protect against illnesses such as measles, periodic epidemics occur. Such epidemics often are associated with lack of vaccination. In numerous parts of the world, diseases such as measles are still common. As it is easy to travel from one nation to another, it is very likely for someone with a vaccine-preventable illness to spread the disease to any child or grown-up who has not been immunized. Immunization helps to decrease a child’s, families, and even a whole community’s probabilities of becoming sick by reducing the number of persons who could get ill and then spread the infection to others. This procedure of defence is sometimes denoted as “herd immunity”. An example of a fruitful immunization effort is the smallpox program.

WHY VACCINATE YOUR CHILD AT BIRTH?

Young children are at augmented danger for infectious ailments as their immune systems have not so far built up the essential barricades to fight serious infections and illnesses. As a consequence, ailments like a whooping cough or pneumococcal disease can be very serious — and even fatal — for infants and young children. Immunizations schedule should start initially in life to defend children before they are exposed to these ailments.

WHY GET MORE THAN ONE DOSE OF VACCINE?

To build immunity one requires more than one dose of it and as vaccination protection fades with time, each and every dose is very important.

CONCLUSION

Prevention is better than cure, so one should never skip vaccines as many infectious diseases can be prevented with immunization. A vaccination chart for babies is given to each and every parent by the Government of India and it is a part of their parental duty to protect their child against illnesses by getting him all the vaccinations. Without delays and false preconceived notions, every person or parent is responsible for their children’s health. There are multiple mother and child hospitals in town with numerous and best paediatricians, who can help in vaccinating your child. Some hospital has the provision of vaccinating in their hospital during the birth of a child.

REFERENCES

• https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons/index.html.
• http://www.superbabyonline.com/immunization-schedule-in-india/.
• http://www.momjunction.com/articles/immunization-schedule-for-children-in-india_00381624/#gref.
• https://www.huffingtonpost.com/claire-mccarthy-md/the-top-7-reasons-parents-tell-me-they-dont-want-to-vaccinate_b_5441537.html.
• https://www.vaccines.gov/who_and_when/infants_to_teens/index.html