Self Health Pages

The Importance of Child Vaccinations

Immunization Vital to Child’s Health and Welfare…

Why their is a need to vaccinate your child? Various diseases from all across the world have exacted death tolls by the millions, especially in the Third World countries, where progress and development seem elusive. Measles which is a deadly disease caused millions of deaths but is now under control thanks to mass vaccinations. Another dreaded disease the smallpox which claimed two millions of deaths in 1967 alone was also eradicated. Another good news is polio cases is now reduced significantly to a whopping 90% globally. Although global campaign for child vaccination had given immunization to certain disease there are still some ailments that continue to affect children all over the world.

About 1.7 million children that are not immune die each year from the six child killers: diphtheria, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, tuberculosis and tetanus. According to the stated report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Alas, without immunization an average of three out of a hundred born child will succumb to measles, two will be victims of tetanus, one will die of whooping cough and one out of every 200 children born will be disabled for the lifetime because of polio.

Although vaccination is painful its benefits are priceless.

Here is the importance of immunization.

• Immunization is important, it is your kid’s shield from dangerous and deadly diseases. According to the fact sheet of UNICEF, “If for any reason a child has not been fully immunized in the first year of his life, it is vital to have the child immunized as soon as possible.”
• Highly effective but not yet perfect. The efficiency of some vaccines over some diseases are as follows: for measles and polio the success rate of vaccine is 95%. The success rate of vaccine over diphtheria and whooping cough is 84% and 70 to 90% respectively.
• Allergy to the vaccines is very rare, vaccines might trigger allergy symptoms like a red spot and swelling on the vaccination spot. Fever might be experienced from the very day of injection to seven (7) to ten (10) days a vaccine is injected.
• Every woman that fall under the age bracket 15 to 44 should be fully immunized against tetanus.Tetanus which is filled with one of the most fatal poison which is the exotoxin can often result to death.