As parents, we want our kids to grow healthy and reach all their milestones. Getting the infant vaccines on time, and watching them sit up, crawl, run, and finally become wonderful humans is a beautiful journey. But before we jump into technicality, you must understand the need for childhood vaccinations.
As your child grows up, they may have to experience a harsh external environment. This increases their vulnerability, exposing them to harmful viruses, germs, and bacteria that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Vaccinations act as an effective shield to protect your little ones, if taken at the right age and time.
Importance Of Getting Childhood Vaccination
Most paediatricians say that a child without vaccination or other immunizations is prone to getting sick often and more likely to get infected than one with vaccinations. Here, we are going to list down some of the most significant reasons why children should get vaccinated:
- Prevention of diseases: Diseases, whether severe or mild, are caused by harmful bacteria, viruses, or pathogens that work as transmitters. Getting your little one vaccinated protects them by stimulating their immune system and warding off infections.
- Lesser risk: Vaccines are usually crafted to prevent various life-threatening diseases from infecting the body. Thus, vaccinating your baby reduces the risk of such diseases adversely affecting your little one.
- Immunity among masses: When a specific or significant portion of the population is vaccinated, it is called community immunity. Once this happens, there is a lesser possibility of spreading contagious diseases and protecting unvaccinated individuals.
- Effective control: Child vaccination or vaccinating people helps control epidemics, eradicate diseases, and improve the health quotient of the masses, no matter what state or country they are in.
Common Childhood Vaccines You Should Know
There are many vaccinations under the childhood vaccines list. Here are the most common vaccines that you should know about:
- DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis): The first one is the DTaP vaccine, which helps prevent and provide protection against Diphtheria, Tetanus (Lockjaw), and whooping cough (also known as Pertussis).
- IPV (Inactivated Poliovirus): Polio is a contagious disease caused by a virus and is a communicable disease. IPV or Inactivated Poliovirus helps protect your child from Polio effectively.
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella): Measles, Mumps, and Rubella are all caused by contagious viruses and can lead to fever and respiratory issues. MMR is a necessary vaccine that should not be missed.
- Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b): Diseases like pneumonia are highly infectious and life-threatening. They are caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, and this vaccine helps prevent them.
- PCV (Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine): A viral vaccine protects your little one against harmful diseases and infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, such as meningitis and pneumonia.
- RV (Rotavirus): This is a common vaccine that helps protect your little munchkin from diseases like severe dehydration and diarrhoea and shields against various Rotavirus infections.
Frequency Of Vaccines
When talking about the ideal childhood vaccination schedule, here is an outline of what it brings to the table:
- It is a broad sketch of the vaccines your little one will receive when he reaches or crosses a certain age, including the timings, dates, etc.
- It is more of an administrative report that documents the treatments and records the multiple doses to ensure the long-term protection of your child’s physical well-being.
- It is said to follow the nation’s guidelines and can be customized according to the child’s specific health conditions, needs, and individual contraindications
Functioning Of Childhood Vaccines In The Human Body
As an individual, your little one is exposed to the external environment in more ways than one. When your baby gets vaccinated, he/she is induced with inactive or weak forms of the particular disease-causing microorganisms or antigens.
When administered, these vaccines ignite the immune system within the body to produce immune memory cells that are known to fight the targeted pathogens. So, if in the future, these immune memory cells encounter pathogens, the former might multiply well to ward off the pathogens and protect the body.
Summing It Up
Vaccinations are a safe and effective way to protect your child from severe infectious diseases. As a macro matter of public health and safety, childhood vaccinations help your child fight uncertainty with complete preparation.
Whether you are a new, working, or stay-at-home parent, child care is equally important to all. A childhood vaccination list is vast and cannot be memorized completely. Hence, to make your lives easier, BabyMD offers effortless ease in booking appointments with experienced paediatricians, with reminders for the vaccinations, and child-friendly clinics for regular vaccinations. So don’t delay your child’s care and get their timely vaccinations scheduled today.