{"id":72044,"date":"2016-08-11T12:35:41","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T16:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=72044"},"modified":"2016-08-10T20:19:05","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T00:19:05","slug":"vaccinating-on-time-is-important-for-disease-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=72044","title":{"rendered":"Vaccinating on Time is Important for Disease Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"immunizations\"<\/a>National Immunization Awareness Month is a reminder that\u00a0children need vaccines right from the start.<\/p>\n

Parents agree that feeding and sleep schedules are important to help keep their children healthy. The\u00a0same goes for childhood immunizations. Vaccinating children on time is the best way to protect them\u00a0from 14 serious and potentially deadly diseases before their second birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recommended immunization schedule is designed to offer protection early in life,\u201d said Dr.\u00a0Jennifer Meyers, a pediatrician at the Family Health Center in Hamilton, \u201cwhen babies are vulnerable\u00a0and before it\u2019s likely they will be exposed to diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public health and medical experts base their vaccine recommendations on many factors. They study\u00a0information about diseases and vaccines very carefully to decide which vaccines kids should get and\u00a0when they should get them for best protection. Although the number of vaccines a child needs in the\u00a0first two years of life may seem like a lot, doctors know a great deal about the human immune system,\u00a0and they know that a healthy baby\u2019s immune system can handle getting all vaccines when they are recommended.<\/p>\n

Meyers emphasizes that vaccines have changed so much in the past 100 years that even though it\u00a0may sound like we are giving a lot of shots early in life, the entire birth-to- kindergarten vaccine series\u00a0all added together still has fewer antigens than the smallpox vaccine that used to be given before\u00a0smallpox was eradicated from the world.\u00a0\u201cSo although it seems like we are injecting more, we are\u00a0really injecting less, but able to protect against more,\u201d said Dr. Meyers.<\/p>\n

Meyers cautions against parents delaying vaccination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no known benefit to delaying\u00a0vaccination,” Meyers said. “In fact, it puts babies at risk of getting sick because they are left vulnerable to catch\u00a0serious diseases during the time they are not protected by vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n

When parents choose not to vaccinate or to follow a delayed schedule, children are left unprotected\u00a0against diseases, like measles and whooping cough. In 2014, measles, a disease that had previously\u00a0been eliminated in this country, was reported in 667 people in the United States. Failure of the\u00a0population to fully vaccinate against this disease resulted in these reported cases. Staying on track with\u00a0the immunization schedule ensures that children have the best protection against diseases like these\u00a0by age two.<\/p>\n

Parents who are concerned about the number of shots given at one time can reduce the number given\u00a0at a visit by using the flexibility built into the recommended immunization schedule. For example, the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine can be given at 6 through 18 months of age. Parents can work with\u00a0their child\u2019s healthcare professional to determine the best time to give this dose to their child.<\/p>\n

To prevent or help lessen injection pain, Dr. Meyers recommends cuddling and positioning the child in\u00a0the parents\u2019 arms, giving more than one shot at the same time when possible, and for infants,\u00a0breastfeeding immediately afterward.<\/p>\n

If you have questions about the childhood immunization schedule, talk with your child\u2019s doctor or\u00a0nurse. For more information about vaccines, go to www.healthymadisoncounty.org. The Madison\u00a0County Health Department holds Immunization clinics each week and appointments may be\u00a0scheduled online or by phone at 315-366- 2848. Most insurance plans are accepted. Some fees may\u00a0apply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

National Immunization Awareness Month is a reminder that\u00a0children need vaccines right from the start. Parents agree that feeding and sleep schedules are important to help keep their children healthy. The\u00a0same goes for childhood immunizations. Vaccinating children on time is the best way to protect them\u00a0from 14 serious and potentially deadly diseases before their second birthday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23810,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellbeing","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-iK0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/immunizations.jpg?fit=2067%2C830&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/66743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}