There are quite a few arguments raised by parents who are skeptical about vaccination in general. Such as:

• A lot of people seem to think that just good hygiene and nutrition is enough for protecting against infections
• In the olden days there was a lot of mortality, now it is anyways declining due to better healthcare
• Isn’t it better to get protection from natural infections rather than artificial injections?
• We all got these infections as children, nothing happened to us
• Vaccines are anyways not foolproof, do not guarantee 100% protection

However the fact is:

• Healthy children are also susceptible to infections and their complications
• Vaccination though not foolproof, does confer protection from serious complications even if the child does catch the infection. Catching a disease doesn’t always give you 100% immunity either. It is possible to catch rubella, Hib disease or pertussis (whooping cough) more than once
• In the process of getting natural immunity by infection, the child suffers, may miss school days and worse may suffer from serious life threatening complications. So vaccine induced immunity is still preferable
• Receiving vaccination for your child could also protect the community at large
• A healthy unvaccinated child could spread a vaccine-preventable disease to other high-risk people, i.e. a child might infect a newborn sibling with chickenpox, a pregnant woman could catch rubella, or a diabetic grandparent would suffer from flu. All these infections could be dangerous or even fatal
• n fact many infectious diseases lead to complications that still is difficult to treat, even with the best medical care available (for example meningitis, encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – and even pneumonia). Even in countries with good intensive care facilities, 3 in 10 of those who get tetanus will die. Also even though the infection may not kill, it may leave behind crippling sequelae

WHY SO MANY VACCINES? DOES MY CHILD NEED THEM?

There are thousands of germs in the environment which can cause infections. Vaccines are available as a means of protection against a few of these which are known to cause morbidity and mortality. And to eliminate some of these it is essential to achieve universal immunization.

ARE VACCINES SAFE?

All vaccines go through a long and thorough phased process of development and testing before they are licensed for use. They are studied in depth before actually introducing in the market. Any medicine however can cause unanticipated adverse reaction in any person in the rarest of cases. The risk of this however is still much less when compared to the benefits offered by the vaccine.

CAN VACCINES CAUSE THE DISEASE THAT THEY MEANT TO PROTECT FROM?

A few vaccines are developed from the live germs however they are weakened enough to induce the body to produce antibodies, but not the disease. So even with live vaccines, in a healthy child with a normal immune system, the risk of causing the infection is negligible.

CAN THEY GIVE SO MANY VACCINES TOGETHER,WON’T IT HARM MY BABY?

Parents sometimes worry that their child’s immune system will not be able to cope with receiving several vaccines at once. In fact, even a tiny baby’s immune system can cope easily. From the moment a baby is born, Babies’ immune systems are working all the time to protect them against bacteria and viruses in the environment. The vaccines effectivity and reactions are tested before using them as combinations. In fact using combination vaccines help to reduce the overall number of injections your baby requires.

WHAT IF MY BABY GETS A SERIOUS REACTION TO THE VACCINE? HOW CAN WE MINIMISE THE RISK?

• Any medicine is capable of causing an abnormal /adverse reaction in a baby
• Get your baby vaccinated with a qualified doctor
• Always notify your doctor if your child has any known allergies or if your child is sick
• Inform your doctor about any reactions suffered with any previous vaccination
• After the shot, wait for sometime in the clinic, most of the serious reactions like anaphylaxis develops in the first 1/2-1 hour post vaccination

In the rare occasion of an adverse reaction ,the doctor notifies the concerned authorities and may fill out a form in detail with the batch number etc. of the dose.

Also it helps in planning for the future vaccination schedule.

i.e. if a seizure post DTP vaccine, the pediatrician would advise for a DaPT dose for the next dose.

HOW DO I REDUCE THE PAIN OF INJECTION?

Even with the so called painless injections, pain is felt during the actual needle prick

• It is best to explain the procedure to the parent or an older child beforehand
• Breastfeed while the injection is taking place, or as soon as it is finished
• Use of a sweet tasting solution is also known to reduce pain perception in older children
• Hold your child close to you or cuddle him
• Rub or stroke gently the skin near the injection site
• Let your child play with a toy so they are distracted during the injection, or have something ready for them to play with afterwards
• Application of ice locally after the prick for certain vaccines and use of Paracetamol drops helps to reduce the pain.However there is no evidence to suggest use of premedication with paracetamol to reduce injection pain
• Topical creams with local anesthetics may help.

 

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