4 Reasons to Vaccinate
You love your children deeply. You want the best for them. You think night and day about their nutrition, schoolwork and adequate sleep. When they are sick, you take them to the doctor and want the best care for them. We all want our children to grow up safe, happy and healthy. With that in mind, I want to give you 4 reasons to vaccinate your children.
Reason #1: Vaccines contribute to the overall health of your child. When it’s cold outside, you tell your child to put a coat on. When they are little, you put them in their car seat. You have the power to protect your child and vaccines do just that. Because of vaccines, we have eliminated polio in the United States. The smallpox vaccine eradicated that disease worldwide. But due to decreasing vaccinations, cases of measles and whooping cough are on the rise.
Reason #2: Vaccines protect not only your child, but those around you. When your child is sick, the closest people to them, such as grandpa and grandma are at risk…not just of getting sick, but of dying. When my son was young, we asked our doctor if he should get a flu shot. The doctor knew about our niece and her compromised health at the time and he recommended that we all get the shot, not only to protect ourselves, but to protect our niece. Recently a family member has been diagnosed with cancer and we keep getting our flu shots every year to protect his health. Approximately 50,000 adults die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Reason #3: Diseases move quickly and easily. Because of the technology that allows us to travel, our world is growing increasingly smaller. We can move through a variety of locations in a short span of time. Think how fast and far recent outbreaks of ebola and the measles have traveled. Ebola has traveled on airlines to America all the way from South Africa. In only three months, 140 people from 7 states in our nation were reported to have contracted the measles, all from the same starting location, a Disney theme park in California.
Reason #4: Vaccines can save time and money. First of all, there are programs that defray the costs of vaccines for low income families. Second, think of the bills that will come if your child gets sick. You or your significant other will need to take time off work. Daycares and schools will not allow a child with infectious disease to participate. You will need to get help from the correct medical facility, and that will require additional time and travel. Those medical bills will add up while you are unable to work. Finally, some diseases cause long term disabilities that can create health problems for the rest of your child’s life.
The final decision on your child’s welfare comes down to you. Some of those decisions can be difficult. When it comes to vaccinations, the pros overwhelmingly outweigh any cons. So please, start your family vaccinations today.
