​ Our Best Weapon against Deadly Disease Has Been Here All Along

COVID-19 vaccines are in the headlines every day. And rightfully so, as there is no doubt that vaccination is our only way out of the global pandemic we are still experiencing. With so much spotlight on COVID-19 vaccines, it’s crucial that we don’t forget about the importance of routine childhood vaccinations. Scientists, doctors, and public health professionals at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decide what the childhood vaccine schedule should be. They recommend all children, without medical contraindications, adhere to this schedule. This group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), meets many times a year to discuss data on new and existing vaccines to ensure that the childhood immunization schedule is the safest and most effective way to prevent children from contracting vaccine preventable diseases.

Historically speaking, vaccine preventable diseases have made up some of the most severe threats to public health. In the 1940s and 50s polio ravaged, paralyzed, and killed thousands of children each year. It was a cruel fact that many had come to expect. Thanks to polio vaccination, no cases of polio have originated in the U.S. since 1979. Parents no longer have to live in fear of their child suffering or dying from polio and being powerless to prevent it.

In fact, vaccination is so effective at preventing disease that once one of the most painful and cruelest diseases known to man, small pox, is now considered globally eradicated. There are still plenty of vaccine preventable diseases worldwide but luckily vaccination is extremely effective at preventing infections. For example, only 3% of people who get two doses of measles vaccine will still get measles if exposed to the virus. Currently, a total of 14 diseases can be prevented by routine childhood vaccines.

These 14 diseases have painful symptoms, life-long effects, and are potentially deadly. These diseases are preventing by receiving the following 10 vaccinations in childhood:

1. Hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine

2. Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine

3. Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine

4. Influenza (flu) vaccine

5. PCV13 (pneumococcal disease) vaccine

6. Polio vaccine

7. Rotavirus (RV) vaccine

8. Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine

9. DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis) vaccine

10. MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine

These vaccines are given by shot, except for rotavirus, which is a liquid that is swallowed, and one type of flu vaccine, which is sprayed directly into the nose. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, immunization rates in children abruptly declined. Public health experts attributed this fact to the public’s fear of leaving their home and potentially coming into contact with someone infected with COVID-19. This news immediately had infectious disease experts around the globe concerned. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said orders for childhood vaccines had dropped by about 11 million doses during the pandemic when comparing to the previous year data. People are starting to feel more comfortable taking their children for well-visits to receive vaccines, which is a great sign. However recently Connecticut’s Department of Public Health confirmed a second case of the highly contagious measles virus in Fairfield County. According to CDC, Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. Symptoms of measles include cough, runny nose, red eyes itchy eyes, skin rash, sore throat, and fever that could spike at more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

To stop the spread of vaccine preventable diseases we all must do our part. National Infant Immunization Awareness Week is April 24th-May 1st. If you have been putting off an appointment, call your medical provider and schedule a visit if your child is due for vaccines. Not sure if your child is due for vaccines? Call your provider and find out. You could be saving a life. Unvaccinated children will remain vulnerable until they are vaccinated.

More astonishing statistics from the CDC on the impact of childhood vaccination:

• Nearly everyone in the U.S. got measles before there was a vaccine, and hundreds died from it each year. Today, most doctors have never seen a case of measles.
• More than 15,000 Americans died from diphtheria in 1921, before there was a vaccine. Only two cases of diphtheria have been reported to CDC between 2004 and 2014.
• An epidemic of rubella (German measles) in 1964-65 infected 12½ million Americans, killed 2,000 babies, and caused 11,000 miscarriages. Since 2012, 15 cases of rubella were reported to CDC.

Do you have questions about receiving vaccines in your area? Please contact the Immunization Program housed at Southwestern AHEC

Call 475-988-5008 or email Sarah Altieri: saltieri@swctahec.org

Reference source: https://www.cdc.gov/globalheal...