VACCINES
Introduction
Vaccines are medical products that protect individuals against some fatal and severe diseases by generating immunity or strengthening the immune system of a person. Vaccines are usually administered orally, nasally, or by injection. Vaccines are made of weakened antigens, which cannot cause disease. In the US, children are vaccinated against diseases like tetanus, diphtheria, polio, measles, chickenpox, among other severe conditions. Vaccines protect against potentially fatal illnesses, and many vaccines are medically safe and effective. Vaccination has led to a significant decline in mortalities caused by these infections. Some people oppose vaccinations because they are concerned that vaccines can cause long-term health problems in children. However, there is no scientific evidence to link any health problems to vaccines.
How vaccines work
Vaccines work by making the body’s immune system prepared to fight diseases without exposing the body to the complications of the disease. Vaccines are usually made of killed weakened or microbes that cannot cause an infection (Whitney et al. 2014). When a vaccine is injected into the body, the immune system recognizes them as a threat, and in response, the immune system produces antibodies that destroy the antigen. When the danger has subdued, the antibodies wear out while the immune cells, also known to as memory cells, remain in the immune system. When that antigen enters the body again, the memory cells quickly generate antibodies and fight the antigen before it can cause the disease
The contrast between traditionally created vaccines and those created using biotechnology
Biotechnology is used to develop recombinant vaccines through recombinant DNA techniques. Creating biotechnologically developed vaccines involves entering the DNA encoding an immune trigger that arouses an immune response into bacterial cells. The DNA encoding then identifies antigens in those cells and then eradicates the antigens from the cells. Traditionally, vaccines were created by weakening antigens and administering them in the body to generate immunity against viruses and bacteria, which could cause infections.
Some diseases children are vaccinated against in the US
Routine vaccination of children in the United States between the age of zero to six years are recommended to prevent some severe and deadly diseases. The vaccines are administered at different timings when the child is growing up. The first disease children are immunized against is Hepatitis B, which is administered within twenty-four hours after birth. The next dosage is administered at one to two months after the first one, and the final one at six to eighteen months of age.
Children are also immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, which is combined in one vaccine referred to as diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) (Liang et al. 2018). The DTaP vaccine is administered in five separate doses, with the first one being given at the age of two months. The next dose is administered at four months, the third at six months, the fourth at the age of fifteen to eighteen months, and the last one at the age of four to six years of age.
Children in the US are also vaccinated against poliomyelitis, also referred to as polio. The polio vaccine, known as the IPV vaccine, is administered in four doses. The first one is given at the age of two months, the second at four months, the third at the age of six to eighteen months, and the fourth one at four to six years. Kids are also vaccinated against rotavirus, which is given in two or three doses. Other diseases children are vaccinated against are Haemophilus influenza type B, pneumococcal, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A and.
Vaccination against the above diseases has resulted in a significant decrease in mortalities and the number of infections in the past a hundred years. Some diseases like smallpox have been completely eradicated. Others like polio were last reported in the US in 1979, and since then, only a few cases associated with the vaccine or imported from other regions have been reported (Maglione et al. 2014). Haemophilus influenza in children has almost been eradicated by the use of the Hib conjugate vaccine.
Some reasons people oppose vaccines
Parents and caregivers have various concerns about vaccines because they worry that vaccines have long term health problems like autism, asthma, type 1 diabetes, cancer, brain damage, or developmental disorders. Others fear that vaccines can overwhelm the immune system and cause infections or lead to wearing out of the immune system. Some Christians, especially the clergy, say that the administration of vaccines violates some religious principles. Others argue that the government violates personal liberties by making the administration of vaccines mandatory to all citizens. Vaccines can, however, have some mild side effects like fever and mild pain and redness on the part the needle was injected (Maglione et al. 2014). However, currently, there is no scientific evidence to link these concerns about health problems and the adverse side effects of vaccines.
In conclusion, it is advisable to take your kid to a healthcare facility for vaccination against the diseases mentioned above because vaccination protects the kid from complications of vaccine-preventable illnesses. Immunization also prevents the spread of these diseases to other people. Vaccines are safe and effective; therefore, there is no need to worry about adverse side effects on the kid.
References
Liang, J. L., Tiwari, T., Moro, P., Messonnier, N. E., Reingold, A., Sawyer, M., & Clark, T. A. (2018). Prevention of pertussis, tetanus, and diphtheria with vaccines in the United States: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recommendations and Reports, 67(2), 1.
Maglione, M. A., Das, L., Raaen, L., Smith, A., Chari, R., Newberry, S., … & Gidengil, C. (2014). Safety of vaccines used for routine immunization of US children: a systematic review. Pediatrics, 134(2), 325-337.
Whitney, C. G., Zhou, F., Singleton, J., & Schuchat, A. (2014). Benefits from immunization during the vaccines for children program era—the United States, 1994–2013. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 63(16), 352.