The Importance of Child Vaccinations Layton, UT
Healthcare providers are seeing a lot of parents who have chosen not to vaccinate their kids in Layton, UT, and many other cities in Utah and across the United States.
These parents are doing what they believe is best for their children. The fact of the matter is that there are many misconceptions about child vaccinations. Failing to vaccinate could jeopardize their and your child’s life. Child vaccines can make the difference between a child living a healthy, long life or suffering with a debilitating—or fatal—disease.
Here is more information about child vaccines in Layton, UT, and the truth behind some of the more common myths. Read below for when you should bring your children in for their next round of immunizations.
Understanding Infection
Many diseases spread through viruses, which cannot be cured with antibiotics. Viruses can enter your body a large number of ways. These include breathing infected air, helping a sick person, or even touching a surface that isn’t sanitized. Children are especially susceptible to viral illnesses. For example, they tend to play close together, forget to wash their hands, and touch dirty objects.
When germs enter the body, the immune system responds by creating fighter T-cells and antibodies that fight the infection. Sometimes this immune response causes little more than a slight fever and fatigue. Other times the immune system isn’t strong or developed enough to fight off infection quickly—and kids become noticeably sick.
Child Vaccines: An Overview
Because antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, parents have two choices. They can choose whether to risk their child becoming sick or preventing the illness altogether by vaccinating their child. Child vaccinations in Layton, UT, are made with weakened or non-living proteins. Professionals always inspect vaccine batches are for safety before dispersal. They are given through an intramuscular shot. This gives the body a chance to respond to the weakened virus or protein particle.
Because the virus is dead or weakened, your child will not get the disease. The body will have the chance to develop the T-cells and antibodies required to fight off the infection in the future. Immunity is largely permanent for the chosen strain of virus or bacteria. This is because the body maintains a bank of “memory” lymphocytes that will remember the germ and how to fight it.
Herd Immunity
- Pregnant women
- Children with cancer or another life-threatening condition
- Children that have received an organ transplant
- The very young
- People with extreme allergies
Misconceptions About Child Vaccinations
One of the most common misconceptions about vaccinations is that they cause autism. But, it is important to understand that the 1997 study claiming this was later wholly discredited and retracted. The doctor also lost his medical license.
Other misconceptions about child vaccines include parents worrying that their child is too small to receive a lot of shots. They may also question the safety of the ingredients within the vaccines themselves. The simple truth is that vaccines are studied vigorously. Also, stringent safety protocols are in place to protect your children. The immune systems of small children are more robust than most people realize. Moreover, the vast majority of children experience only mild symptoms from vaccinations—if any at all. The Bottom line is, child vaccines work. Get your child’s vaccinations in Layton, or one of our many locations in Weber and Davis County.
The Bottom Line: Child Immunizations Work
Immunization has been proven to protect children from a wide variety of fatal illnesses. These include polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. In fact, studies show that vaccines create childhood immunity 90% to 100% of the time. They mostly and sometimes completely eradicate illnesses. Viruses that were once the cause of childhood death, debilitating injuries, and a lifetime of health problems are now gone.
