Immunizations are something that I never thought twice about! I had the luxury of having immunizations accessible and free for both of my children. We went for our baby check-ups and it was routine to give them their vaccines. Not all countries are as fortunate to have health care at their fingertips. Vaccination has been so successful that we now rarely see potentially deadly infections such as diphtheria, polio or preventable types of meningitis. J.P. Baker (Berger, 2012) states that immunization is said to have had "a greater impact on human mortality reduction and population growth than any other public health intervention besides clean water." However, children in developing countries who don't get vaccinated are still at risk of deadly infections. "Successful vaccination programs save thousands of lives, which is why organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization are committed to making vaccines against measles, polio, and other serious diseases, available to as many children as possible around the world" (CDC). Each child that has been vaccinated helps to stop the spread of disease and immunizations also protects children from complications such as; blindness, deafness, sterility, and meningitis (Berger, 2012).
What about diseases that can't be prevented through immunizations? What about children and their families who are exposed to malaria? There is no vaccine for malaria, but there are preventable measures, but developing countries don't have the means to implement these preventable resources. According to the article, "Information on Malaria" it states that malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the bite of an Anopheles mosquito that occurs between dusk and dawn because the Anopheles mosquitoes feed at night. There are an estimated 216 million cases of malaria each year globally, which is alarming when you consider how preventable it is. I am not sure if any of you have heard of the campaign, "Spread the Net' but this campaign helps to raise money for countries that are exposed to malaria so they can purchase bug nets for when families sleep. That is why there is such a need for bed nets. One $10 bed net can protect a family of five from malaria for five years.
Last year the Colleges and Universities across Canada were challenged with a "Spread the Net" contest to see which learning institution could raise the most amount of money in four months. The students and teachers came together at the college that I work at and over the period of four months, we as a school community raised just over $40,000 and we were the college that raised the most amount of money across Canada!! That money raised could protect as many as 19,000 lives from malaria. These bug nets protect families while they sleep which can lower the risks of being bit through the night by the mosquitoes that carry the disease.
"Spread the Net" is a campaign that our college community continuously supports and one that I value as well. If we can keep children safe from disease by providing them and their families with one bug net and give them the quality of life they deserve then it is so worth trying to make a difference. We try and ensure that the children in our own communities have the chance to thrive and have opportunities to develop to their fullest, but it is important to think beyond our own community. Every child deserves the best and if we can make a difference then it is worth it.
Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th edition). New York, NY: Worth Publishers
Global Vaccines and Immunizations. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from:
Information on Malaria. International Travel Health and Vaccination Clinic Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.doctortravel.ca/index.php?page=malaria
Hey Steph,
ReplyDeleteGREAT blog this week! Immunizing is such a hot topic right now, about 25 of my families at school have chosen not to immunize and I know that it is something that more and more families are choosing to do. It makes me worry a little for public education. I know that each family has the choice as to immunize or not, but from my perspective (that of working with hundreds of children each day), I worry that some disease will begin to make a comeback and that children will be harmed because of it.
The Spread the Net contest that you were involved in sounds GREAT!How amazing that you and your colleagues were able to raise money to help children's health and wellbeing! WAY TO GO!
Machaela
Hi Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Machaela- great post this week. I'm really enjoying this topic. It's a hot one in my world, too. Just this week I had a mama come up to me and ask me, basically, to tell her what to do about vaccines. It's such a crazy thing to be given that kind of responsibility by someone you barely know! I didn't tell her what to do, of course, as it wasn't my place no matter how strongly I might feel one way or the other. But she persisted by asking me what I did. I immunized my oldest, but on a delayed schedule (I didn't really feel like I needed to immunize her for Hep B at 2 days old), but that she was fully vaccinated now. But my youngest, who has really intense allergies stopped getting immunized, at the recommendation of her doctor, at age 3.5. I find that moms are so confused about this issue because both sides claim to have science on their sides. Very few of us moms know how to tell "good science" from "bad science", and while many of the most famous studies linking, for example autism and vaccines, have been debunked, there is still some compelling science out there against vaccines. ...And then there's the stories.... My dentist, a conservative doctor, believes that her daughter's autism was caused by a vaccine. Her daughter was 18 months old, accelerated in every way, developing beautifully in all areas, precocious, and engaged. She had three vaccines at a routine doctors visit and by the evening was nearly catatonic. She no longer made eye contact and, as my dentist put it, "there was just no one home." She is a severely autistic, low-functioning teenager now and is not expected to ever live independently. You hear a story like that first hand and it definitely scares the crap out of you! BUT... the fact remains that these diseases are disappearing and the human life span is increasing. I also worry for kids like my daughter who cannot be totally vaccinated for health reasons because so many kids in our area are not vaccinated. She is much more vulnerable in this liberal hub than she would be in a more conservative part of the country.
Anyway! Thanks for sharing. Really great information this week.
All the best to you!
-Lauren
hi Stephanie -
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you that immunizations are, without question, important for children today. I too never had to think twice about getting my son his immunizations when it was time. I do, however, wonder if giving as many of them as they do at one time is safe. Did you ever feel that they could just give a couple this month and a couple the next month would be better? Do you ever think about what goes through someone's mind that might not get their child vaccinated? If they know the true benefits?
As far as other countries not having vaccines. I know there are many diseases in many countries, but (as you said in your writing) are there vaccines for the diseases they have?