Immunizations

Immunizations are vital for young children’s health and are health preventatives for spreading the disease to family, friends, and other children. I choose this controversial public health issues because parents and caregivers need to know the importance and impact of routine vaccine preventive inoculations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people Although some children can have a reaction to any vaccine, the important thing for them to know is that vaccines can save a child’s life and the benefits of vaccinations far outweigh the possible side effects. ​ As a formal Head Start teacher one of my duties was to maintain a current health record of students’ immunizations along with the lead count, heights, weights, vision, hearing, and dental screenings. As I moved into another job position although not required, I carry along the routine of the recording of height and weight growth and providing parents with friendly reminders of up-coming immunizations.  For parents that had transportation difficulties, I would collaborate with my supervisors on a solution to help the parent with transportation to the appointment. The well-checks are important not only for the immunizations but to check on the child’s general health and growth progress and to identify any areas that may need further attention. Children that are vaccinated protect not only themselves from diseases but those how may be vulnerable or have weak immune systems to diseases. I also provide brochures and information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promoting National Infant Immunization Week April 25-May 2 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020), which focuses on infant and child vaccinations.  I plan on continuing to provide parents with information on the importance of routine vaccines and sending out friendly reminders of upcoming immunization dates.   ​ A vaccine is a medication. Like any medicine, vaccines have benefits and risks, and although highly effective, no vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing disease or 100 percent safe in all individuals. Vaccines work by preparing the body's immune system for future exposure to viruses or bacteria which cause disease. Vaccines are mostly administered through injections (a shot), although others are delivered by mouth, and one is sprayed through the nose. After receiving the vaccine if the actual virus or bacteria attacks the body the immune system is activated and responds quickly and aggressively to destroy the disease-causing agent to protect the individual from being sick with the disease. Vaccines are some of the safest and most effective medicines we have, and they have made many dangerous childhood diseases rare today. With high vaccination rates, it is now rare for children in the United States to experience the devastating and often deadly effects of some infectious diseases that were once common in the United States and other countries. If too many individuals choose not to vaccinate themselves or their children, some diseases that are now rare or non-existent in this country may resurface in many countries. ​ Immunization is a simple and effective way of protecting children from serious diseases. Vaccinations not only protect your child from deadly diseases, such as polio, tetanus, and diphtheria, but they also keep other children safe by eliminating or greatly decreasing dangerous diseases that use to spread from child to child and contributes to the decline in mortality and mobility. In this contest, vaccinations represent one of the most important tools of primary prevention (Bozzola, E., Spina, Russo, Bozzola, M., Corsella and Villani, 2018).  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends scheduled vaccines for children 0-6 years old which protects them from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019).

• Chickenpox

• Diphtheria

• Flu (influenza)

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Hib

• Measles

• Mumps

• Pneumococcal

• Polio

• Rotavirus

• Rubella

• Tetanus

• Whooping cough (pertussis)

All 50 US states require immunization for children with exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Many European countries also have mandated immunization laws that result in high fines for unvaccinated children and the loss of school admittance (Belluz, 2019). In a study of 31 European countries, researchers found that immunizations were grouped as mandatory, recommended, recommended for specific groups, and not recommended (Haverkate, D’Ancona, Giambi, Johansen, Lopalco, Cozza, & Applegren, 2012). Italy mandates immunizations for children up to 16 years old and requires that immunizations for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, HiB, Poliovirus, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella be administered and proof before children can enter school. Under the law, failure to provide proof of immunizations resulted in a noncompliance fine of $560.00, and children are not allowed in school (Belluz, 2019). ​ Ethical Controversies Regarding Vaccinations Despite all the research and positive benefits from vaccines, the rate of unvaccinated children is on the rise, as well as the measles and whooping cough (Gorman, 2011 as cited in Weissman & Hendrick, 2014). There are public health and parents' concerns and refusal to vaccinate their children, partly in fear that vaccinations are linked to autism. Their ethical debate is that vaccination should be a personal choice not mandatory, the development and testing methods for creating vaccines, full disclosure of information about the benefits and risks of the vaccines, and exemptions for those with religious and personal beliefs about vaccines such as puncturing the skin. There is also concern about what criteria are applied if the supply of vaccines is in a shortage and who will receive them, regulations for equal access to vaccines within all social-economical, ethnic, and minority groups in a population, and for low-income and no insurance children (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2020).  ​ Extra Facts About Vaccines

• Newborn babies are immune to many diseases because they have antibodies they got from their mothers. However, this immunity goes away during the first year of life.

• If an unvaccinated child is exposed to a disease germ, the child’s body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines now prevent, such as whooping cough, measles, and polio. Those same germs exist today, but because babies are protected by vaccines, we don’t see these diseases nearly as often.

• Immunizing individual children also helps to protect the health of our community, especially those people who cannot be immunized (children who are too young to be vaccinated, or those who can’t receive certain vaccines for medical reasons), and the small proportion of people who don’t respond to a particular vaccine. (Center for Disease

References

Belluz, J. (2019, November 15). The global crackdown on parents who refuse vaccines for their kids is on. Retrieved July 9, 2020, fromhttps://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16069204/vaccine-fines-measles-outbreaks-europe-australia

Bozzola, E., Spina, G., Russo, R., Bozzola, M., Corsello, G., & Villani, A. (2018). Mandatory vaccinations in European countries, undocumented information, false news, and the impact on vaccination uptake: the position of the Italian pediatric society. Italian journal of pediatrics, 44(1), 67.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-018-0504-y​

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, March). How your child care program can support immunization. Retrieved July 9, 2020, fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/web-etools/digital-toolkit.html#professional-presentations​Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, May 16).Why are childhood vaccines so important? Retrieved July 9, 2020, fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/howvpd.htm​Haverkate,

M., D’Ancona, F., Giambi, C., Johansen, K., Lopalco, P. L., Cozza, V., Applegren, E . (2012, May 31). Mandatory and recommended vaccination in the EU, Iceland, and Norway: Results of the Venice 2010 survey on the ways of implementing national vaccination programs.EuroSurveill. 17(22):20183.https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.17.22.20183-en​

National Conference of State Legislators. (2020, June 6). States with religious and philosophical exemptions from school immunization requirements. Retrieved July 9, 2020, fromhttps://www.ncsl.org/research/health/school-immunization-exemption-state-laws.aspx​

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2020). Ethical Issues and Vaccines. Retrieved from https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/ethical-issues-and-vaccines​United States Food and Drug Administration. (2019, August). Vaccines for children - A guide for parents and caregivers. Retrieved July 7, 2020, https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/vaccines-children-guide-parents-and-caregivers