Children are required to be immunised against the following diseases, as these can cause long term health problems and disabilities such as cancer, brain damage, and deafness.
- Whooping cough
- Measles
- German measles (rubella)
- Meningococcal
- Pneumococcal disease
- Chickenpox
- Tetanus
- Mumps
- Pol
- Diphtheria
- Rotavirus
- Hepatitis
Immunisation is usually by way of vaccination, and depending on the vaccine, may need to be taken as a single dose, as several booster shots thereafter, or as a regular vaccine such as the flu vaccine which is taken annually. Annual vaccines are for those diseases that evolve and mutate creating new variants of the virus for which previous vaccines may not be effective.
Vaccinations are a very safe way of protecting a person from infectious diseases, as opposed to natural immunity, which is immunity from a disease attained by actually contracting the disease. While some believe that this is the ideal way to gain immunity, it is certainly not so, because contracting certain diseases can have long-lasting very serious complications that could hamper a person from living a normal life. Further, contracting some of these infectious diseases can even lead to death.
Why do we need immunisation?
- It protects you and your loved ones from very serious and potentially harmful diseases.
- Protects people in your community by stopping the spread of diseases.
- Vaccinations are very safe as they go through a lot of research, and are always being updated to suit new variants of diseases.
- With increased immunisation, many of these potentially harmful diseases can be eradicated from the community.
- Immunisation prevents millions of hospitalisations and deaths every year around the globe and is a very safe method of protecting oneself against contagious diseases. As with all medications, vaccinations also do have some side effects, however, these are very mind in nature and wear off after a day or two. These side effects include:
- Soreness at the point of injection.
- Mild fever.
- Body aches.
- Dizziness.
- Headache.
Although these mild side effects do exist, the benefits you can gain from effective immunisation is much greater, especially for those high-risk groups of people, such as:
- Pregnant women.
- Children under 5 years of age.
- Adults over 65 years of age.
- Those with chronic medical conditions.
- Those who are greatly exposed to infections.
With the growing importance placed on immunisation around the world, we have been able to eradicate or greatly reduce infections of many harmful infectious diseases that cause death or even lifelong paralysis. These include:
- Polio
- Smallpox
- Tetanus
- Diphtheria
One of the most dangerous issues faced by the world today is people’s hesitancy to get immunised, which has caused certain diseases to once again raise their ugly heads in certain communities. For example, due to vaccine hesitancy in England in recent years, diseases like Measles and Mumps which were almost at the point of eradication, have once again started spreading. Vaccine hesitancy is treated as a huge global health risk, as more and more false information is spread through social media and other mediums to prevent people from getting immunised.
Vaccines have been proven to be very safe, for both adults and children, and if you do have any immune deficiency problems or other illnesses that you feel may get aggravated with a vaccine, then you can always consult a medical professional before getting your vaccinations. It must be understood that immunisation prevents many deaths as well as serious long-term health complications that can arise because if getting infected with certain viruses, and it is a responsibility we all share to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community from dangerous diseases.
There are many clinics that provide immunisation in the Bayswater area, as well as other parts of the country, and making your appointments for immunisation in Hobsons Bay, Bayswater or clinics anywhere else in the country are much easier now with online appointments enabled. You can even consult a medical professional at these clinics before you get your immunisations have done, who will be able to give you updated information regarding diseases and the latest vaccinations available.