Fall is just around the corner and that means a return to more structured routines for us and our kids. With the back-to-school season here, it’s time to schedule vaccinations - for parents and children.
Vaccines play a major role in preventing and protecting adults and children against infections and diseases. They work by fooling our immune system into thinking that a real infection is in our bodies. Then, if we are exposed to the infection at a later date, the immune system is already prepared to protect our bodies against it. Side effects are usually short-term and not nearly as serious as the diseases or infections they protect us against.
Vaccines are particularly critical for young children. If you’re the parent of a young child, it can seem like you are at the doctor every week for routine check-ups and scheduled vaccines or blood tests. Understandably, the process can be stressful but keeping up with the prescribed vaccine schedule is critically important. Without vaccinations, childhood diseases most of us haven’t heard about in decades - like whooping cough, measles and polio - could come back.
Some parents have mistakenly been lead to believe that there is a connection between vaccines and autism - though a 2009 federal court ruling and countless scientific studies have found no connection between the two - and as a result have refused vaccinations for their children. The consequences of inaction can be serious and far reaching. For example, earlier this year, an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that a measles outbreak in San Diego was fueled by kids whose parents refused to vaccinate them, thus endangering other children too young to be vaccinated.
But vaccines aren’t just for kids - and some of the vaccines you received as a child require a second dose. According to the CDC, adults need a second dose, or a booster, of certain vaccines that lose their effectiveness over time. Some of these boosters include tetanus and whooping cough. During your next visit to the doctor’s office, be sure to ask what vaccines you’ll need in the next year and schedule them, if necessary.
As we head into fall, don’t forget the vaccination you and your children need every year: an influenza - or flu - shot. Not only does it protect against the flu, but it also helps prevent more serious health issues like pneumonia that can result from the flu.
Vaccines play an important role in keeping America’s children healthy as they begin a new school year. In 2010, more than 230 medicines, including 16 vaccines, are in development by America’s biopharmaceutical companies to treat the special health needs of infants and children. For patients who need help accessing their medicines, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) is available to help. For five years, PPA has helped connect 6.5 million patients in need to programs that provide either free or nearly free medicines. For more information, patients can call 1-888-4PPA-NOW or visit www.pparx.org.
