The Truth About Vaccinations for Kids

It is almost a universally given piece of advice to parents within hours of the birth of their child: have the baby immunized. Typically, the first vaccination shot is delivered before the baby leaves the hospital and by the time your baby reaches their 6th birthday, they will have received 35 vaccinations if government advice is followed. During those 6 years, parents will be bombarded with conflicting media reports claiming variously that you should not vaccinate, that there are risks involved with immunizations, that not vaccinating is a sign of being an irresponsible parent, that certain diseases previously thought eradicated are making a comeback because parents are not immunizing their children and much, much more.

What is the truth?

Firstly, just because a disease is thought to be eradicated does not mean it cannot recur and infect unprotected kids. Eradication of a disease simply means it has been removed from the human population, but diseases like smallpox are still around us – we have simply built up protection for everyone with vaccination so it does not affect our kids. The need to vaccinate is still very much there, especially as we are a global society where travelers can bring diseases home with them. This is especially true for diseases such as diphtheria and polio.

Secondly, it was true that mercury was used in very small doses for vaccinations in the past. However, mercury is no longer used in the formulation of multi-vaccinations due to public concern and the intercession of the FDA. You can rest assured that your children are not going to be immunized with a vaccine which uses mercury in it today.

Thirdly, there is widespread concern about links between vaccinations and autism. It is true that there is a growth in the rates of autism, but any link between vaccinations and the condition has been researched, investigated and found not to be true. Even an executive member of the national organization, Autism Speaks agrees with the position that there is no evidence to support any claims of a link between vaccinations and autism. In any event, the chances of your child developing a life threatening and debilitating disease from not vaccinating is much, much higher.

Fourthly, there is a myth that having lots of vaccinations at the same time will overwhelm the immunization system and result in negative reactions. When we are dealing with children, they have a very resilient and highly agile immune system which is more than capable of handling the level of vaccinations delivered. One pediatric study into the matter found that around 10,000 vaccines would need to be delivered to cause a problem. There is the potential for negative reactions to vaccines, but this is as a result of a reaction from a particular vaccination and would occur whether it was delivered singly or as a multi-dose immunization.

Fifthly, the flu vaccination causes the flu is a frequently heard claim which is totally untrue. The flu shot typically administered across the country to children and adults alike, contains no live virus so it is impossible to catch the flu as a result. What does happen is that the body’s immune system sets about developing protection against the virus, and it is this which may cause recipients of the flu shot to feel achy. Remember, for up to 2 weeks after your kid receives the flu shot, they are not protected from the virus – it takes the body time to develop immunity, so make sure they don’t polay with the kid next door who has the sniffles during this time.

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