Importance of Vaccines - Essay Example

Vaccines Affiliation Vaccines have greatly lowered the infectious disease burden in both developed and developing countries. Introducing in the body virus or bacterial derivatives or even weakened forms of these pathogens conditions the body to produce a defensive mechanism in readiness to fight the real infection upon exposure (Germain, 2010) . This is basically what vaccines do; they prepare the immune system of the body to be ready to fight infections from specific bacteria or viruses. Children are the best population to be immunized as they are susceptible to a variety of bacterial and viral infection. Their immature immune system is unable to fight most of infections from the environment; hence it requires boosting and augmentation. Parents are always concerned about the well-being and safety of their children, this make them more than willing to do anything to ensure their children remain healthy. One sure way of keeping children healthy and safe is immunizing them (Germain, 2010). Importance of Vaccination Parents of all people must understand why they should vaccinate their children (Serpell & Green, 2006). There are many benefits of immunizing children against infectious diseases. Parents must understand that vaccines help prevent highly infectious diseases such as Polio and measles that can cause abnormal growth or even mortality of children. Vaccines are the safest and cheapest methods available very handy in controlling dangerous debilitating and mortifying diseases. Logically, any parent will opt for an easier and safe way of maintaining the health of his or her child which is getting the child immunized (Serpell & Green, 2006). Vaccines are also used as the best choice of medical intervention in mitigating infectious disease severity in children (Chabot, Goetghebeur, & Grégoire, 2004). Comparing two groups of children those who get immunized against a certain disease and those who do not get vaccinated, the severity of the disease is definitely lower in those who receive the vaccine. Those who receive a vaccine for a certain disease develop a certain degree of resistance and if they get infected then the symptoms and duration of the illness will not be life threatening contrast to those who have never been immunized. Immunizing children will help reduce the severity of those infectious diseases that are inevitable in childhood years. Effective vaccines have the ability to avert a lot of complications associated with certain infections. Vaccines administered before exposure to a certain pathological agent will not only prevent active infection but also limit any complication should the individual get infected. Children being among the vulnerable group to infections are supposed to be immunized to eliminate any chances of complications from a latent infection (Chabot et al., 2004). For instance, a child immunized against polio may not suffer adverse complications should he or she be infected by polio virus at a certain stage in life. The initial polio vaccine reduces the chances of complete paralysis and only a section of the body might be affected unlike if he or she was not immunized at all. Efficacious vaccines are not just important to the immunized children but also protective to those unimmunized. The immunized children provide what is called herd protection for the whole community; the unimmunized children have a lower risk of contracting a certain viral or bacterial infection if most of the children in the community are immunized (Chabot et al., 2004). This also implies that the specific disease causative agents are at a minimum contagious level in the environment. The duration of the pathogen in the environment and transmission rate are greatly minimized when a sufficient proportion of children are immunized. Immunizing a child against one pathogen may have more than one health benefits. For instance children who receive Rota Virus Vaccine with the aim of preventing gastroenteritis and vomiting get protection against malnutrition as well. While the chief purpose of this vaccine is to prevent Rota virus which causes severe diarrhoea among children, other associated benefits include enhancing nutritional adequacy through proper absorption and retention of most micro-elements and macro-element. This prevents malnutrition that comes as a result of absence of certain elements in the body or excess of them in the body. What this Vaccine achieves is to protect the child against severe diarrhoea as well as promote good nutritional status of children (Chabot et al., 2004). Vaccines play a crucial role in preventing development of antimicrobial resistance (Handel, Margolis, & Levin, 2009). Once a child is immunized, the chances of him or her falling ill are greatly reduced this also means that antibiotics are not often used to treat infections. Antibiotic resistance comes as a result of improper drug administration during the many times the child falls ill. Vaccines eliminate improper use of antibiotics by simply reducing the susceptibility of children to infections that require strict antibiotic treatment such as tuberculosis. Only one BCG vaccine will prevent the child from receive a lengthy tiresome tuberculosis antibiotic therapy which has a high noncompliance rate leading to multidrug resistant tuberculosis (Handel et al., 2009). Parents need not worry about their children travelling or visiting new places that might have certain biological hazards (Chabot et al., 2004). Parents can ensure their children are free to travel anywhere without being apprehensive of their children contracting certain infectious disease found in places of travel. The solution lies in vaccinating their children with the appropriate vaccines. This is also not just limited to travelling but attending functions with enormous gatherings with people from all walks of life. Parents may not be always with their children let alone control what children eat while away from home, to ensure that safety and health are not compromised regardless of the environment children must be immunized. It is important that parents appreciate the need to protect their children against bioterrorism (Chabot et al., 2004). Change of war fare has necessitated the use of biological agents to incapacitate enemies and can also be used to harm innocent lives. This makes it imperative for parents to prepare for this kind of uncertainty by having their children immunized against most of infectious diseases. A child has high chances of survival if parents take the initiative of having him or her receive full vaccination. The immune system is always prepared and strengthened to help prevent and fight any pathological agent intentionally introduced in the environment. In summary, parents must appreciate the vital role vaccines play in the lives of their children. Vaccines prevent contagious infections, boost the immune system, lower incidents of antibiotic resistance, protect against bioterrorism and make it possible for children to travel almost anywhere. Other vaccines have more than one benefit in promoting the health of a child. References Chabot, I., Goetghebeur, M. M., & Grégoire, J. P. (2004). The societal value of universal childhood vaccination. Vaccine. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2003.10.027 Germain, R. N. (2010). Vaccines and the future of human immunology. Immunity. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2010.09.014 Handel, A., Margolis, E., & Levin, B. R. (2009). Exploring the role of the immune response in preventing antibiotic resistance. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 256(4), 655–662. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.10.025 Serpell, L., & Green, J. (2006). Parental decision-making in childhood vaccination. Vaccine. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.02.037 Read More