All babies are born with a small natural immunity to disease, but vaccination/immunizations offer important complementary defense against serious infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are also the leading cause death and disability in children. For hundreds of years, beginning with Edward Jenner’s research, scientists have sought to intervene to prevent the spread of infection by inducing immunity through the use of vaccines.Subsequently, scientists have been successful in developing vaccines against a wide selection of viruses and bacteria, thereby eliminating many childhood diseases like polio, small pox and whooping cough to mention a few.
Vaccines are drugs or biological agents which are used in convey immunity; and differ from other types of drugs, because they are administered to healthy individuals.The goal of vaccination is to generate a strong immune response to the administered antigen which is usually achieved by the introduction of live, killed, or altered antigens that stimulate the bodies of children to produce antibodies against the major dangerous forms of the microorganisms. While the ultimate goal of vaccination in babies and children is to develop a strong immune response to the administered antigen, with the aim of providing long-term protection against infectious diseases like polio, diphtheria, influenza and measles.There has been some opposition against the use of vaccination because of some side effects, most of which are that have not been scientifically proven. Vaccination is still the preferred method approved by the government, and medical community as the most reliable method that can be used to confer immunity to children. The benefits of childhood vaccinations are numerous; some of which include saving, improving the quality of lives and significant economic benefits.
According to the Center for disease control (CDC), immunizations have a greater impact on reducing death and disability from infectious diseases than almost any other public health intervention. The rates of diphtheria, measles, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus, and invasive Hib disease have all been reduced by 97% or more by immunization. Before the introduction of effective vaccines, in 1988, approximately one in 200 children, under the age of five, developed invasive Hib disease.Hib was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under age five accounting for about 60 percent of all cases. From 15 to 30 percent of affected children became hearing impaired and about 420 children died every year despite antibiotic therapy. In addition, Hib vaccine has prevented the leading cause of acquired mental retardation in the U.
S. By 1998, vaccination of pre-school children reduced the number of Hib cases by more than 99 percent.And “not only do they prevent a vaccinated individual from developing a potentially serious disease, vaccines routinely recommended for children also help protect the entire community by reducing the spread of infectious agents. A decision to not vaccinate is to put the individual and community at risk. When immunization programs achieve high levels of "community" immunity—or what scientists sometimes refer to as "herd" immunity (the indirect protection of a community, including unvaccinated individuals), the likelihood that an infected person will transmit the disease to a susceptible individual is greatly reduced”.In conclusion, the economic benefits are numerous “According to the CDC, for example,, there is a $10 return on investment for every dollar spent on childhood vaccinations.
Vaccinations of children and adolescents prevent approximately 20 million cases of disease each year and save as many as 42,000 lives on an annual basis. Immunizing children born in the United States each year costs about $7 billion and saves $21 billion in direct costs and $55 billion in indirect costs. ”(Chronic Disease Prevention).
