Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Inject to Protect: The importance of pediatric immunizations.

While we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine, we shouldn’t forget about the other life-saving immunizations kids need to protect them from serious disease and illness, as well as eliminating the spread to others.

The debate about immunizations remains, despite the research that has proven that there are no adverse or dangerous side effects in vaccinating children. In fact, the opposite is true. Vaccines contain important ingredients that cause the body to develop an immunity (or resistance) against preventable disease.

Diseases once believed to have been eliminated, such as measles, mumps and whooping cough, are on the rise, and pediatricians and organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), strongly support protecting children, family members and friends by following the vaccination guidelines.

Refusing or delaying vaccines makes everyone vulnerable because the bacteria and viruses that cause disease can spread. When you consider that situations such as travelling and gathering in large groups can serve as vehicles in transmission, it begs the question, why anyone would not want protection from and prevention of disease?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assures that vaccines given in combinations—starting at birth—are as effective as spreading them out over time, and neither compromise the child’s immune system. Most children never experience side effects from receiving vaccines and, if they do, they are mild and not dangerous.

Common symptoms felt from vaccines may include mild tenderness, redness or swelling at the site of the injections, but more serious reactions are rare. The benefit of protecting children against a preventable disease outweighs any possible minor reaction to immunizations. Parents and caregivers should take comfort in knowing that vaccines save lives and have been studied for decades by medical experts and the federal government to ensure their safety.

Below are common vaccines that should be a part of your child’s wellness schedule.

  • DTaP combines protection against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Tetanus happens when bacteria enter the body through a cut or sore and can cause lockjaw, spasms, paralysis, labored breathing and even death. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a lung infection that makes it difficult to breath as a result of severe coughing. It’s life-threatening in babies under the age of 1. It also leads to pneumonia, seizures and labored breathing.
  • MMR combines protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Measles and mumps are highly contagious viruses involving the respiratory system. Measles can cause pneumonia, brain swelling and death. Those afflicted with mumps suffer swollen salivary glands, a fever, headache and muscle aches. Eventually, it can lead to loss of hearing or sterility in males.
  • Hib protects against haemophilus influenzae type B. There are no symptoms unless bacteria enter the blood and complications such as meningitis, epiglottis or pneumonia occur.
  • Influenza vaccine protects against the flu, which can lead to pneumonia and even death. Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection and spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The flu kills more than 49,000 Americans each year. Those with asthma or diabetes, the elderly and pregnant women are at higher risk.
  • Varicella vaccine protects against the chickenpox, which can range from mild to life-threatening.
  • Hep A and B vaccine protects against exposure to either virus, which can lead to organ infection or failure, blood disorders and even cancers. Hepatitis affects the liver and can lead to long-term problems. Pregnant women can pass the disease to their babies during delivery. This is 100 times more infectious than HIV.
  • IPV protects against polio and is a viral disease living in the intestines. It causes muscle atrophy and weakness, as well as paralysis or death.
  • PCV, known as the pneumococcal vaccine, protects against pneumococcus and meningococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial disease that can cause pneumonia, which is deadly in persons over age 65, ear and blood infections. Meningitis affects nearly 1,200 people in the United States each year, and as many as 15 percent die, even with antibiotics.
  • HPV protects against human papillomavirus, which is common in people in their teens and early 20s. HPV infection can cause cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers in women and penile cancer in men.

National guidelines for children from birth through late teens are available on the CDC website.

Melencio Chan Ventura, MD, practices from UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics, York Memorial.

For more information, visit www.upmcpinnacle.com.

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