The benefits of vaccinations in children

With so many parenting theories around, sometimes being a parent can feel like it’ll be a lifelong journey of wondering if you’ve done the right thing.

Fortunately, when it comes to medical advice – like whether or not to vaccinate your children – you can outsource some of this anxiety to the doctors and scientists who are committed to the health and well-being of your children.

Backed by the latest research, we take a look at the benefits of vaccinations in children, so you can make the right decision for your child and your community.

The facts behind immunisation:

• The World Health Organisation calculates that immunisation prevents between two and three million deaths around the world.
  
• Vaccinations have eliminated a number of life-threating diseases and are behind the near extinction of many others. In the US, for instance, cases of polio virtually cease to exist – where previously in the country the disease took a devastating number of lives.
  
• Research reveals that between the 20^th and 21^st century in America – where vaccinating is mandatory for school going children, and is exempt for personal and religious reasons in only a few states – cases of smallpox and diphtheria have decreased by 100%. There’s also been a 99% reduction in cases of polio, measles, mumps, rubella and CRS.
  
• South African reports revealed similar successes. According to the South African Journal of Infectious Diseases, immunisation in children has taken control of a number of threatening diseases, including eliminating the wild polio virus, maternal and neonatal tetanus, and drastically reducing cases of measles.

Benefits of vaccinations in children:

• Immunisation protects your child: Similarly to how we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone, the benefits of vaccinating are invisible until we fail to do so. It’s impossible to know how many times your child is exposed to a vaccine-preventable disease and fights it off as a result of immunisation.
  
• Vaccinations prevent the spread of disease: If it takes a village to raise a child it also takes a village to save one. The decision not to vaccinate places the most vulnerable at risk: young babies, pregnant women, the elderly and those who can’t be vaccinated because of immune-weakening diseases such as leukemia. Vaccinating your child is the very best way you can help prevent disease spreading and infecting those who can’t protect themselves.
  
• Vaccinations are safe: Although injections may amount to tenderness and mild side effects in sometimes, the benefits of vaccines far outweigh this passing discomfort. Although allergic reactions are possible, they’re the extreme exception. Vaccines only get the nod of approval from governing bodies after rigorous testing and thorough review processes.
  
• Immunisation makes financial sense: In comparison to the cost of treating a child who is infected with a serious disease, the cost of vaccinating children is minimal. It’s a vital investment in your family’s long-term health.