Blog: Why Should You Get Vaccinated

Recently there has been increased talk and concern about getting you or your children vaccinated, many people believe that it is more harmful then good. This has become a common misconception for many people and is simply far from the truth. A fear of vaccination has been created through media and other social outlets, this has resulted in the outbreak of many viruses that are normally prevented through vaccination. These fears and false ideas about vaccination can be prevented by informing the public about the truth and common misconceptions about vaccines.

The pros of vaccination far out weigh the cons, there are indeed some bad side affects or things can happen from vaccination but these occur in less then one percent of people. From a survey conducted of 1500 parents one fourth believed that vaccination could cause autism in their child. This is one example of the misconceptions about vaccinations that is far from the truth. From this misinformation by the media and internet there is not enough people providing factual information about vaccinations. Doctors now can no longer assume that families and parents know the actual facts about vaccinations and have to be active in informing their patients and family members.

A large problem for pediatric medicine and the lack of parents vaccinating their children stems from the fact the fact that parents are not informed about vaccinations until their child is around two months old. By this time many parents may have heard false information about vaccination or have already made up their mind whether to vaccinate their child. Parents need to be hearing the facts about vaccination far sooner, either during the pregnancy or before they are conceiving the child. This information needs to be provided from a credible source such as your pediatrics doctor or a health care provider. This will provide parents with the correct information that they need and prior to their child being born, giving them enough time to think about what they want to do knowing that they have credible information to base their decision on.

When looking at the data showing children who have been vaccinated to those who have not the numbers do not lie and clearly show there is a drastic increase in the chance of getting a virus in those not vaccinated compared to those who do. A study conducted in Colorado surveyed hundreds of thousands of children, the data showed that children who are not vaccinated are 23 times more likely to get whooping cough, nearly seven times more likely to become hospitalized by pneumonia or a pneumonia related disease, and are nine times more likely to contract chicken pox. This is an alarming increase of infection compared to those who are vaccinated and clearly shows why it is essential that you and your children should be vaccinated. This clearly affects children and then can cause other people such as young infants who are too young to be vaccinated yet causing increased risk for newborn babies. Many parents believe that the diseases that vaccines prevent are not a life threatening or that serious of a virus, resulting in parents not giving their children certain vaccines. The data shows that a child who gets measles has one in twenty odds of becoming infected with pneumonia. Of the children who do develop pneumonia one in 1000 of this children will have brain inflammation and swelling which can lead to mental retardation and death. This is just one example of the various illnesses that can stem from a virus that could have been prevented through vaccination.

Overall most people and parents just want to know that the vaccines they or their children are receiving are safe. This fear can be eased and avoided by health care providers such as nurses and doctors both communicating clearly and in a timely manner. The clear facts of vaccination are clear, vaccination can and does prevent potentially fatal and very harmful diseases. The level of safety in vaccines is very high and less than one percent of people will experience adverse side affects. The vaccines being provided are highly monitored and are always being changed if a new or better form has been found. The regulation of these vaccines is not only monitored by the pharmaceutical companies making them but by independent agencies separate from the companies that manufacture them. If the misinformation about vaccinations continues and increases the number of sick children will begin to increase, these sicknesses and deaths could easily be prevented with the appropriate vaccine. So it is clear that a stronger effort must be made to provide a better way to inform people of the facts of vaccinations and the positive affects that they have.

 

References:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/straight-talk-about-vaccination/

http://www.nfid.org/about-vaccines/reasons