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| VACCINE CONCERNS | ||||||||
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Are vaccines
safe? is a question many parents ask. The purpose of this
section is to help you find medically and scientifically accurate
information about vaccines and immunizations to help you answer
some of your questions. A great deal of information about vaccines
is available today in print, through the media, and on the Internet.
It is important for both patients and providers to have access to
current research and be able to read about issues that affect health.
However, not all the information you will find is accurate, and
some statements may be misleading when taken out of context.
We immunize to protect our children and ourselves. While it may seem that the risk of getting any of these diseases is small, they still exist, and can infect anyone who is not protected. San Diego is one of the busiest ports of entry into the United States, with many millions of travelers and new residents entering the county every year. It attracts tourists, immigrants, students and members of the military from every corner of the globe, and anyone might unknowingly bring these diseases to a shopping center, school, or neighborhood near you. We also immunize to protect those around us. There are some people who cannot be vaccinated because of severe allergies to vaccine components or other physical limitations, and a small percentage of individuals do not respond to vaccines (they don't work for these people). These people are at risk, and the only hope they have for protection is that enough people around them are immune through vaccination and therefore cannot catch and pass on the disease to them. Just as no one of us can drive safely on the freeways unless everyone follows the traffic laws, the protection of individual children and families from vaccine preventable diseases depends on a successful immunization program for the whole community. For more information,
visit the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia at http://www.vaccine.chop.edu.
Q:
Is it safer to be naturally infected than immunized? Immunity from a disease may follow a single episode of infection, although this is not always true. Immunity acquired through vaccines in some cases requires several doses. However, the cost for disease-acquired protection can be high. Complications of infection with vaccine-preventable diseases can include pneumonia from chickenpox or pneumococcus, mental retardation from Hib, severe birth defects from rubella, liver cancer from hepatitis B virus, or brain damage or death from measles. For more information
on the complications and comparative risks of vaccine preventable
diseases, we recommend that you link to one of these web sites for
the latest research:
Many parents try to compare the risk of immunizations to the risk of disease. They say that "even one case" of adverse reaction to a vaccine is too many. To look at the real risk, we must compare the numbers. The risk of dying of complications from the measles is 1 in 1000 cases. The risk of suffering a severe adverse reaction is 1 in 1,000,000. Which risk is greater for your child? Immunization is one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine. It has spared millions of people the effects of devastating diseases, and saves the lives of thousands each year in the United States alone. Widespread immunization is one of the most important ways to protect people of all ages against serious infectious diseases and their consequences and has nearly eliminated many diseases. Measles, diphtheria and pertussis were once responsible for millions of infections and thousands of disabilities and deaths each year. We now see very few cases of measles, almost no cases of diphtheria, and the number of pertussis cases is only a small percentage of the 175,000 cases per year reported in the 1940's. One goal of immunization is to eliminate disease. That has been accomplished in the case of smallpox, which was responsible for 300 million deaths, more than any other disease in history. Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide through immunization. There is also a plan to eradicate polio by the year 2008. Just a few statistics on the impact of immunizations: Haemophilus
Influenzae type b (Hib): Before 1985 Hib caused serious infections
in 20,000 children a year, including meningitis (12,000 cases) and
pneumonia (7,500 cases). In San Diego County there were no cases
in 2000. Rubeola (Measles): Before 1963, when the first measles vaccine was licensed, more than 3 million cases of measles and 500 deaths from measles were reported every year in the U.S. More than 9 out of 10 children had measles disease by age 15. After the vaccine was introduced, and school immunization requirements were implemented, disease rates went down, reaching a low of 3 cases in San Diego County in 1983. The disease made a comeback in 1989-91 both nationally and locally, due to low immunization rates in preschool aged children and infants. There were 985 reported cases in San Diego during 1990, and 3 children died. Today, largely due to air travel, we are still at risk for measles due to outbreaks in other countries. In 2003, a young adult became infected with the measles virus while in Europe then flew to San Francisco, potentially infecting individuals on the airplane and contacts in San Francisco. 2008 saw the first outbreak of measles in San Diego since 1991. Twelve cases were reported and some 70 people were quarantined at their homes to interrupt the spread of the disease. Polio: In 1952, polio paralyzed more than 21,000 people in the U.S. The last case of polio in the Western hemisphere was reported in 1979. Pertussis (Whooping Cough): In the early 1940s, the national average was 175,000 cases of pertussis (whooping cough) each year, resulting in the deaths of 8,000 children annually. Although much less common, this disease continues to be a problem in San Diego County. In 2003, we had 101 reported cases locally, resulting in 145 days of hospitalization which cost approximately $362,500. Also, in 2005, 371 cases of whooping cough were reported in the County, the highest number in many years. Diphtheria:
In the 1920s, there were 100,000 to 200,000 cases of diphtheria
each year in the U.S. 13,000 people died from the disease. We have
not seen a case in San Diego County for over 15 years, but we remain
at risk because of travel to the former Soviet Union and many other
countries around the world where this disease still exists. Due to the current high levels of immunization in the United States, most of these diseases have been cut to near zero. Thanks to immunization, smallpox has been eradicated, polio has been eliminated, and only 2 cases of diphtheria, 116 cases of measles, and 3 cases of congenital rubella syndrome were reported for the whole nation in 2001. Q:
Do vaccines overload the immune system in infants or children? Infants and young children daily meet and manage many challenges to their immune system all at the same time. Although the mother's womb is free from bacteria and viruses, once born, every baby immediately faces a host of different threats to the immune system. From birth, thousands of different bacteria start to live on surface of the baby's intestines. By quickly making an immune response to these bacteria, babies keep the bacteria from invading their bloodstream and causing serious disease. Other challenges include the food they eat, and the things and people they touch. In fact, babies can respond to millions of different viruses and bacteria because they have billions of immunologic cells circulating in their bodies. So the vaccines given in the first two years of life are only a tiny part of what every infant's immune system successfully meets and overcomes every day. Even though
we know that the shots our babies are being given are important,
we hate to see them cry. For useful tips on how to comfort your
baby during and after immunizations, see Be
There for Your Child During Shots. You can also ask your doctor
or health care provider for a copy when your child is immunized.
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Parents
& Community | School Staff
| Child Care Providers |
Healthcare Providers The information on this website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider may recommend variations in treatment based on individual facts and circumstances. |
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