Vaccine Safety is a Natural Concern for Parents

The recent outbreak of measles in the United States, as well as increased rates of other vaccine-preventable diseases like whooping cough and mumps have many parents concerned about the best way to protect their children from illness.
According to the CDC, prior to having vaccinations available in the United States, diseases like whooping cough, polio, measles, and rubella affected hundreds of thousands of babies and children in the US, with thousands dying each year. As vaccines were created and their use became more wide spread, disease and death rates declined until they were almost completely gone from the country.
While the rates of these vaccine-preventable illnesses was on a steady decline and could decline again, it is still important to be sure that both children and adults stay up to date on vaccinations. During their first fifteen months of life, children are typically immunized against 14 diseases including: diphtheria, hepatitis A & B, Haemophilus influenza type B, influenza, measles, mumps, whooping cough, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus and chickenpox. Vaccines work by stimulating our natural immune system to create antibodies for these illnesses. While no medicine is perfect, vaccines produce immunity 90% – 100% of the time.
The benefits to vaccination go beyond the health of your child. When most children in a community are immunized against a disease, even if one child gets sick, the disease probably won’t spread. By continuing to vaccinate children even though these diseases are far less common than they were in the past we ensure that these illnesses won’t make a comeback in the future.
Vaccine safety is a natural concern for parents. While any medication can cause a reaction, severe reactions to immunizations are rare. Most children don’t have any side-effects and those who do most often experience minor reactions like a sore leg, a slight rash or a mild fever.
Dr. Jazmine Harris, Interim Chief Medical Officer and pediatrician at the CompleteCare Health Network, understands parent’s fears about immunizations. “No parent wants to see their baby stuck with a needle, but watching them suffer with the measles or whooping cough, which can have lifelong health consequences would be much worse.”
Currently, the state of New Jersey requires all students, 30 years of age or less, to submit a valid immunization record (unless they submit a letter stating valid religious or medical reasons why they cannot be vaccinated).
However, over the past few years, some have chosen to forgo vaccinations due to misinformation about their safety. This practice is prevalent despite rigorous clinical trials and more than 50 years of experience with vaccines which show that unanticipated long-term problems resulting from the vaccines are extremely unlikely. Even so, for parents who are still unsure, Dr. Harris urges you to ask questions of your provider and not make important decisions regarding your child’s health based on fear or rumor.
“There are no wrong questions when it comes to the health of your child,” said Dr. Harris. “If something is bothering you about vaccinations or any prescribed treatments, don’t be afraid to ask. It’s your provider’s job to make sure that you are well informed so you can make the best decisions about the health and safety of your children. They may also be able to give you resource materials or direct you to reputable websites where you can learn more.”
If you, your children, or anyone in your family has missed any vaccines, talk with your healthcare provider about creating a schedule to get caught up.
CompleteCare offers pediatric and family medicine services at locations in Cape May Court House and Wildwood, to schedule an appointment call 609-465-0258 or visit www.CompleteCareNJ.org.