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The Miracle of Vaccines
We often take for granted the protection from horrible diseases that we get from vaccines: polio, meningitis, diphtheria! If you saw the bird flu movie, or other movies about deadly viruses that can wipe out huge populations, that could be happening now if it were not for the miracle of the vaccines that are available to us today.
We are sorry to have to poke babies and make them cry, but the pain is just a few minutes, and can protect them from horrible disease and death. As technology advances, we are able to make vaccines against more and more illnesses. This means more shots and more expense. But it also means a better life in the future for our children.
How Vaccines Work
Vaccines work by stimulating your own immune system to produce antibodies against dangerous viruses or bacteria. When your immune cells are exposed to foreign material, they start to produce antibodies to attack it. A vaccine would expose your immune cells to pieces of these dangerous germs, or milder forms of the germs which are harmless. This way, you don't have to go through the actual serious illness to become immune to it.
New Vaccines
Several new vaccines are now available. One exciting new vaccine protects children and adults from many strains of human papilloma virus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer in women, and causes genital warts in both men and women. It is recommended for all girls at the 6th grade checkup. It is now covered on the state vaccine program for all girls over age 9.
There is also a new and improved version of the rotavirus vaccine (diarrhea virus) which so far has a very good safety record. It is an oral vaccine and is given at the 2, 4 and 6 month checkups.
Most children are already protected from Hepatitis B, but a different hepatitis virus (Hepatitis A) is much more contagious and can be transmitted by food. Hepatitis A virus is fairly common in Mexico, and we are importing more and more food from Mexico these days. There have been reports of Hepatitis A outbreaks due to food contamination in many states all over the USA. States which border Mexico (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) have used the Hepatitis A vaccine for several years, and have virtually eliminated this disease in those states. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that all children in the USA be vaccinated for Hepatitis A.
The most contagious form of meningitis is caused by bacteria called meningococcus. It can be prevented with a new vaccine which is given at the 6th grade checkup (age 11). It requires only one dose and is very safe.
Links to Info about Vaccines
Safety of Vaccines
As parents and physicians our first concern is for the safety of our children. Could vaccines cause damage or endanger our children? As with any other treatment or medication, there could be rare side effects that are not expected. For vaccines, these are called "adverse events", and are reported to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) by every doctor who recognizes one. Fortunately, these are on the order of one-in-a-million. When adverse events exceed the one-in-a-million level, the CDC and FDA react quickly to investigate and discontinue the vaccine if a connection is established, such as the first rotavirus vaccine in the 1990's (which was linked to 17 cases of intestinal blockage called "intussusception"---out of millions of doses given).
False Alarms
There have also been several "false alarms", where there seemed to be a
connection between vaccines and something else. An example is the apparent
increase in autism in the last ten to fifteen years. Could this be due to
something in vaccines? The CDC has looked very hard at this question, and there
have been literally hundreds of studies to see if this is the case. So far,
there is absolutely no evidence to support such a connection. Here are the major
points of interest:
(1) The "increase" in autism is actually due to an increase in diagnosing
autism. In the past there were the same number of children with autism, but they
were called by different names. New methods of categorizing the disease have
caused the apparent increase in the statistics.
(2) A preservative containing trace amounts of mercury (thimerosal) was used in
many vaccines to prevent bacterial growth. There has been concern that the
mercury could have caused autism or other adverse effects. However, there has
never been shown to be an increase autism or any other behavior problems among
children who got thimerosal vs those who didn't. Furthermore, when thimerosal
was removed from almost all vaccines in the last 5 years, there was no change in
the incidence of autism or other behavior problems. Additionally, there have
never been any reports of mercury toxicity in any children receiving thimerosal.
Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions that both doctors and parents have about when
and when not to give vaccines. If you are allergic to actual components of the
vaccine or have had a serious reaction, such as anaphylaxis (shock, wheezing,
passing out), then you should not get the vaccine.
Otherwise, you should NOT delay getting vaccine for these "lame" reasons:
(1) having a minor illness or fever under 102.
(2) getting over an illness.
(3) taking antibiotics.
(4) fever from a previous DPT shot, if fever was less than 105.
(5) mother or other family member is pregnant.
(6) child was premature.
(7) recent exposure to a disease.
(8) having allergies in general.
(9) allergies to duck meat or feathers, or to chicken eggs.
(10) family member had a vaccine reaction.
Another misconception is that vaccines are safer or work better if given separately. Giving many vaccines at once is not only much more humane (why force a child to endure the pain over and over again?) but each vaccine in a combination works just as effectively.
Misguided Groups
Some groups have formed to try to oppose the use of vaccines. These are generally poorly informed people who have a very high paranoia level with regard to the US government (might be appropriate!) and tend to extend that paranoia to the CDC (totally undeserved!). Here is a timely editorial by Dr McMillan of Johns Hopkins University, a leading expert on children's health.
