As fall approaches, now is the perfect time to schedule your influenza vaccine. The influenza vaccine is recommended annually for all children over 6-months-old.
Influenza is a viral infection that causes sudden onset of high fever, chills, body aches and cough. Sometimes serious infections may develop following a case of influenza, especially in infants and children with serious health conditions like lung disease, heart disease, a weakened immune system or cancer. A child with asthma who contracts influenza is at higher risk of developing a more severe and complicated illness.
An influenza infection also has serious health consequences for adults and older adults, particularly those who have chronic breathing problems, are going through chemotherapy or who have other chronic health conditions.
Warding Off Whooping Cough
You may have recently heard information in the news about pertussis (also known as whooping cough), which has led to the death of six infants in California this year. Pertussis causes a terrible cough that can prevent babies from eating, and in some cases, breathing. Like influenza, adults and seniors who contract this disease may also have severe complications.
Babies are immunized against whooping cough as part of their regular immunization schedule. A pertussis booster is also recommended at 11-years-old to give teens and young adults a “boost” in their immunity as they grow into adulthood. The outbreak of pertussis in California reminds us to be diligent about vaccinating our tweens and teens.
A Few Words About Safety
Vaccines are safe and they work. In fact, vaccinating children and young adults may be the most important intervention we do as health care providers, and that you, as parents, can perform.
There will likely always be controversy surrounding vaccination. However, the vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we even discuss whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, most of us have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis or even chickenpox. Because of vaccines, most of us have never known a friend or family member whose child died from one of these diseases.
If you still have doubts, keep in mind that thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians have studied the safety and effectiveness of vaccinations for many years. They are confident in recommending these vaccines and the schedule for when they should be given. You can also talk to people whose lives have been forever changed by vaccine-preventable diseases—like my grandmother who lost her father when she was 4-years-old to the influenza pandemic of 1918. Talk to people who were crippled by polio in the 1950s. Talk to the families of children who unfortunately die every year from the complications of influenza.
In the end, bad things unfortunately do happen to good people. But we should take comfort knowing we have the power to prevent serious or life-threatening illnesses from striking those we love through simple vaccination.
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