Vaccination is one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine. No other medical intervention has done more to save lives and improve the quality of life. Because of vaccination, smallpox is no longer seen and polio is heading towards eradication. No wonder vaccination is considered a modern miracle.
Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies (substances produced by the body to fight disease) without the person actually becoming infected with the disease. This is called ‘active immunity’. If the vaccinated person then comes into contact with the disease itself, their immune system will recognise it and immediately produce the antibodies needed to fight it.
Newborn babies are already protected against several diseases, such as measles, mumps and rubella, because antibodies have passed into them from their mothers via the placenta. This is called ‘passive immunity’. Passive immunity only lasts for a few weeks or months. In the case of measles, mumps and rubella, it may last up to one year.
Vaccines have been developed for the prevention of a number of infectious diseases, especially those that cause severe morbidity and mortality in young children.
In South Africa, the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) has made significant progress in the control of vaccine-preventable diseases. The number of measles cases per year dropped from about 10 000 – 15 000 cases during 1980 – 1997 to less than 100 confirmed cases per year from 1998 – 2006. Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) cases have been markedly reduced and maternal and neonatal tetanus has been eliminated.South Africa has been certified polio-free in 2006.
This programme has been very successful and routine coverage increased by 84% from 2000 to 2006, recorded at a national level in 2006. Vaccines and the EPI have a potential to contribute significantly to reduce childhood mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
As part of the on-going upgrade of the EPI, during September 2008, two new vaccines were launched:
- The rotavirus vaccine is effective in protecting children against the rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhoea among infants younger than five years, often leading to death.
- The pneumococcus conjugate vaccine protects children against diseases e.g. pneumonia, meningitis and other more common infections such as sinusitis.
The rotavirus and pneumococcus vaccines aim to reduce the mortality rate of children under the age of five. It is estimated that the introduction of these vaccines will save about 14 children’s lives each day or avert more than 4 700 deaths per year from pneumococcal pneumonia and viral diarrhoea.
Considering only the pneumococcus vaccine, an estimated 700 000 deaths could be averted by 2015 and seven million deaths by 2030 with the widespread global use of this vaccine that will protect against diseases that are the world’s biggest child-killers. More than half a million children younger than five die from pneumococcal disease every year, according to the WHO. It accounts for 18 % of child deaths in developing countries.
The revised childhood immunisation schedule from April 2009 that includes these vaccines can be seen below.
Why do children need so many shots?
Over the years scientists have developed vaccines against a number of diseases and children receive these to protect them from those diseases. Vaccination against smallpox is no longer required since this disease has been eradicated. It is the hope of the WHO to also eradicate polio, which will mean that a vaccine against polio will no longer be needed.
As our understanding of vaccines progresses, combination vaccines may be possible which will reduce the number of shots children will need. At the same time, vaccines may be developed to protect us against even more diseases.
Why are vaccines given at such an early age?
Vaccines are given at an early age because the diseases they prevent affect children of a very young age. Vaccines give children the earliest and best protection against disease.
Some diseases are far more serious or common among infants or young children. For example, up to 60% of the severe disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b occurs in children under twelve months of age. Of children under six months of age who get pertussis, 72% must be hospitalised and 84% of all deaths from pertussis are among children less than six months of age.
What if the child misses a dose of vaccine?
The vaccinations can be continued as the schedule prescribes as vaccinations do not have to be repeated when there is a longer-than-recommended interval between doses.
How safe are vaccines?
They are very safe but can cause side-effects. Usually these are mild, e.g. the child may complain of a sore arm or slight fever. Serious reactions are very uncommon. The important thing to remember is that getting vaccines is much safer than getting the diseases they prevent.
Can vaccines cause autism?
There is convincing evidence that some vaccines can sometimes cause serious adverse effects, including seizures, brain inflammation and fainting, according to a new report from theInstituteofMedicine. The 647-page report was commissioned in 2009 by the Health Resources and Services Administration which administers the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in theUSA. The report reviewed the evidence linking eight vaccines with possible adverse effects.
The report concluded that the evidence favours rejecting the idea that some vaccines cause type 1 diabetes or autism.
Do vaccines always work?
Most childhood vaccinations work between 90% and 100% of the time. Sometimes a child may not respond to certain vaccines for unknown reasons. Therefore it is important for all children to be immunised. If a child is immunised against measles, he cannot infect another child who failed to respond to a measles vaccine.
What will happen if a child is not vaccinated?
If a child goes through life without ever having been exposed to any of these diseases, nothing will happen, but if the child is exposed to one of these diseases, there is a good chance he will get it.
The child will then be treated for the disease that he has contracted and could possibly die. In addition, he could also spread the disease to other children or adults who are not immune.
If a child’s risk of exposure to disease is low, why should he be vaccinated?
If only one child in the whole country gets diphtheria this year, that child has a one in ten chance of dying. Even if disease rates are currently low, if vaccinations were stopped, infection rates will not remain low for very long.
What ingredients go into vaccines and why?
The major ingredient of any vaccine is a killed or weakened form of the disease organism the vaccine is designed to prevent. Therefore, measles vaccine is mostly measles virus. Pneumococcal vaccine is mostly the surface coating from pneumococcal bacteria.
What should be done in the case of a serious side-effect?
Signs of a severe allergic reaction can include difficult breathing, hoarseness or wheezing, hives, paleness, weakness, a fast heart beat or dizziness. If the child shows these symptoms after having had a vaccination — or if she shows other unusual symptoms, such as a high fever or behavioral changes, contact a doctor as soon as possible.
For further information: www.kiddivax.co.za
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