Why are Parents Unsure About Vaccinating Their Kids?
The advancements in the field of medicine and technology have made the process of immunization safer than ever. However, there are still a fairly large percentage of parents (around 12%) who are unsure or choose not to vaccinate their kids. Genuine fear, myths and hesitations are some of the common reasons from parents who haven’t vaccinated their kids.
If there was a safe vaccine for COVID-19, very few of us would choose not to vaccinate our kids. Considering that, it seems many of us are treating these important vaccines as luxury and undervaluing their importance. Saying that, there are still a large number of parents who have been misinformed or are holding back on vaccination because of myths and false rumors. We intend to provide scientifically proven information about these vaccines and discuss about their pros and side-effects. We hope that these information will help our readers, who are in dilemma about vaccinating their kids, take the best decision for their children.
Contents
How do vaccines work?
The process of vaccination involves injecting small amount of antigen, weakened or dead bacteria or virus, into the body. These antigens help the children’s immune system recognize the responsible germs and create antibodies. Once created, these antibodies always remain in the system and provide safety to kids no matter how many times they are exposed to these viruses and bacteria. So basically these vaccines are false alarms that trick our body to create antibodies to fight against these germs.
Depending on the type of vaccines, some require single or multiple doses and last a lifetime whereas some, like tetanus, last only for a year. Newborn babies receive immunity against certain diseases from their mom but this immunity begins to fade away after the first month. Diseases like measles can cause deadly complications like meningitis whereas mumps can cause hearing loss. So, we should follow the recommended guidelines for vaccination to keep our little ones safe.
The recommended vaccine doses and schedule by NSW Health, Australia
Actual side-effects of the vaccines!
These are some of the most common side-effects of vaccination.
- Pain and redness with a bit of swelling around the vaccinated area is very common among children.
- Some children also get mild fever and rashes after the immunization whereas infants can get slightly high fever especially after their first dose.
- Infants can get bit cranky because of light fever or pain for a day or two
In rare cases, some children might develop serious allergic reaction. However, this reaction will develop within few minutes of vaccination. So, the healthcare professional can provide prompt medical treatment for speedy recovery of the baby.
MMR and Measles vaccines cause autism and other developmental disorders - MYTH
There is no scientific evidence that proves these vaccines cause autism. There was a paper published in 1988 that stirred this controversy. However, the paper has been declared fraudulent and has been taken off by the journal. Most of the children develop autism around same time when they get their MMR vaccines and this coincidences created more controversies and fear among the parents. However, till this date, there is no evidence proving a link between autism and vaccination.
Good hygiene and healthy practice can protect against all diseases - MYTH
Practicing good hygiene definitely helps to protect our kids from many diseases. However, it is not sufficient to protect them from air borne diseases like Measles. Immunization is the only way to keep our children safe from these deadly diseases.
Conclusion:
Immunization not only protects our children but also helps to keep everybody around them safe. The more children are vaccinated, there will be less chances of an outbreak. You can relate to the current outbreak of Coronavirus. This virus, COVID-19, transmits from human to human. If we had vaccine for this virus then the number of people infected from this deadly virus would have been significantly low and we could have avoided an outbreak.
At the moment, we don’t have vaccine for COVID-19 but we do have vaccines for other deadly diseases like MMR and hepatitis. So, we should not take these vaccines for granted and should vaccinate our children. The only reason to not vaccinate our kids would be if they have any related allergies or medical condition or have developed any severe allergies during their last vaccination.
