| |  
Ten Reasons to Have Your Child Immunized
by Lynn Cates, M.D., F.A.A.P.
reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Adapted from: National Network for Immunization Information, Copyright 2000.
There are many reasons why having your child immunized--and seeing that he gets all his vaccines on time--is important. Here are 10 of the most compelling reasons:
- Vaccines work. Having your child immunized on time is one of the very best ways you can protect him from infections have the potential to cause permanent damage and or even kill him.
- Vaccines are safe. Currently recommended vaccines are very safe. Not only was their safety evaluated carefully before they were licensed by the FDA for use in children, but they continue to be reviewed for safety on an ongoing basis. A vaccine can be recalled immediately if it is found to have potential safety problems.
- Vaccines are safer than the disease. Preventing an infection to by having your child immunized is much safer than letting him get the disease. Although there are small risks with vaccines, the natural disease is much more likely to cause damage than the vaccine.
- The younger the child, the more susceptible he is to developing severe infections. That is why it is vitally important that children receive each of their immunizations as soon as they are due.
- Multiple doses of some vaccines are needed for optimal protection. For that reason, you should be sure that your child gets all of his recommended doses--and gets them on time.
- Immunizations help strengthen your child's immune system by preparing it to defend him against disease.
- Nothing else is as effective as vaccines for preventing the diseases in question. No matter how careful you are, there is no way to be sure that your child will not catch these diseases short of having him immunized.
- Unless your child is immunized, he is at risk even if most people around him are already immunized, People who have not been immunized are at increased risk for catching the vaccine-preventable diseases and developing their complications.
- If your child is not immunized he can spread disease to others--including your family and friends. At particular risk are those who haven't been immunized, and the few individuals whose immunizations didn't "take"--in particular people with immune problems. They also are at especially high risk for developing severe disease.
- Diseases will return if people are not immunized. If children are not immunized, there will be a resurgence of devastating diseases like polio and measles.
|
Created March 29, 2001
Reviewed March 30, 2001
| |
| | 
|
