Is your child protected?
Last month began a new school year for most students in the Ark- La-Tex, and that means time for parents to look over their children’s immunizations to see that they’re current, a school admissions requirement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, immunizations are a process, which enables the body to gain antibodies to protect itself from diseases without first having to contract the disease. When someone gets sick by an infectious agent, the immune system learns to identify the agent and creates antibodies to fight it. Normally, this doesn’t occur quickly enough to prevent the effects of the illness, but on second exposure to the agent, the immune system “remembers,” and antibodies are quickly produced, which attack it. Immunizations give the body a head start as if it had already survived a disease attack. This also prevents the person protected from becoming infectious to others and spreading the disease further.
Sheldon West has been a registered nurse with Shots for Tots for 13 of her 23 years at Willis-Knighton Health System. West said, “Students need to get proof of immunizations before attending school because it is a Louisiana law. A State of Louisiana Universal Certificate of Immunization is used as proof of immunization and most clinics provide a copy to the parent when their child receives the necessary shots.”
West said, “If students didn’t receive immunizations, there is the possibility that preventable diseases will increase, spread to others and undo all the progress we’ve made over the years. We have to keep immunizing until the diseases are eliminated. For example, no one has to get smallpox shots anymore because it has been eradicated.”
CDC statistics show that in 2012 there was an outbreak of whooping cough (pertussis) affecting more than 48,000 people. Twenty people died in that outbreak, most under 3 months of age. The CDC reports that outbreak clusters of formerly controlled diseases occur semi-regularly among populations of those who, for one reason or other, choose not to vaccinate. Recent measles outbreaks occurred in Texas, California and New York a mere nine years after the disease had been declared eradicated in the United States in 2000. This year, the CDC expects the infection rate to triple what it was in 2009. The CDC linked the Texas outbreak to an anti-vaccine church community. In this case, the disease was brought in by an unvaccinated traveler who had recently been to Indonesia.
West said, “Vaccines are very safe because years of testing are required by law before any vaccine is licensed or distributed. There is no way to absolutely predict the reaction of any one specific individual, and any medical procedure has some risk involved, but I believe the benefits of receiving immunizations far outweigh those risks. I’ve been immunizing children on the Shots for Tots van for 13 years, and mostly parents call with concerns regarding a low-grade fever or complaints of a local reaction like soreness/swelling at the injection site. These side effects are mild and very common after receiving immunizations.”
The CDC refers to vaccines as one of the most important things a parent can do to ensure the long-term health of their children – as well as that of friends, classmates and others in their communities.
West said, “Louisiana law requires children age 4 or older who are entering kindergarten, pre-kindergarten or Head Start programs this year have proof they have received the following vaccinations:
• A booster dose of poliovirus vaccine,
• Two doses of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine,
• Three doses of hepatitis vaccine,
• Two doses of varicella (chicken pox) vaccine, and
• A booster dose of diptheria tetanus acellular pertussis vaccine.
Children in daycare need to be upto-date with their age-appropriate immunizations. Children who are 11 or older and are entering the sixth grade this year must have proof they have received all of the age-appropriate immunizations listed above, and at this age, children also need proof of receiving meningococcal (meningitis) vaccine and tetanus diptheria acellular pertussis vaccine.
West said, “I always tell parents to call and check with their private physician, local health unit or the Willis- Knighton Shots for Tots mobile van for information on availability of required school immunizations. There is a federal program called Vaccines for Children that can assist qualifying families who cannot afford to pay for immunizations if they meet the criteria.
“Parents want what is best for their kids –immunizations keep them healthy so they can stay in school and be prepared to learn.”
