Childhood vaccination has proven to be one of the most effective public health strategies to control and prevent disease. The incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of many infectious diseases have significantly decreased in Western countries primarily because of national immunization strategies aimed at infants and children. Vaccinations are effective primarily due to two factors. First, once a person is immunized against a specific pathogen, the rate of that disease and its associated asymptomatic carrier state is decreased. Second, when a large population is immunized, unvaccinated individuals benefit from “herd immunity,” which is a reduced risk of exposure to pathogens. Consequently, children’s health has improved, and the quality and length of their lives have increased.
“There should never be a child that perishes from a disease that is preventable. That is why, as a mother and a pediatrician I recommend vaccines for every child,” says Cassie Ver Steeg, MD, a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente Redlands Medical Offices. “Their lives are too precious to take a chance.”
Currently, 10 vaccines are included in the standard recommendations for children at specific ages between birth and 10 years: hepatitis A (HepA); hepatitis B (HepB); RSV; diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP); Hib; PCV13; inactivated poliovirus (IPV); inactivated influenza (IIV) or live-attenuated influenza (LAIV); measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); and varicella (VAR). Currently, four vaccines are routinely recommended for adolescents: tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap); meningococcal (MCV); human papillomavirus (HPV); and an annual IIV or LAIV vaccine.
Paradoxically, one reason for vaccine hesitancy among parents may be the widespread success of immunization. Because of high vaccination rates in children under 5 years of age, most vaccine-preventable diseases have declined to historically low levels in the U.S. This success has masked the health dangers of once-prevalent communicable infections, causing young parents to be unaware of the threat that these diseases posed to previous generations. Consequently, the perceived risk of vaccine-preventable diseases is low because people have had little to no experience with them, making it a challenge for healthcare providers to communicate the need for vaccination.
“In the field of medicine, preventative medicine is always where our focus should be. It is so much better to prevent diabetes than to have to treat it with insulin and medications. Vaccines are no different! They prevent an illness that may not actually have a cure,” adds Dr. Ver Steeg.
The potential for vaccines to prevent morbidity and to save lives has never been greater, but only if parents and patients comply with the recommendations for childhood and adolescent immunization. Efforts by healthcare providers, as well as community and government-based interventions, to increase vaccine coverage must continue to reduce morbidity and mortality in children due to vaccine-preventable diseases. Speak with your pediatrician today about the recommendations for when and how to get vaccinations.