7 Must-Have Immunization For Your Child’s Health Growth
Hospitals have become an integral part of our lives. It offers treatment for people with illness. However, it also provides immunization to prevent certain illnesses for good. The immunization is a process of boosting an individual’s immune system to resist infection and illness. On this 24th to 30th April, as we celebrate World Immunization Week, we list out 7 crucial immunization for every child out there.
1. BCG Vaccine
Abbreviated for Bacillus Chalmette Guerin, the BCG vaccine is a preventive measure against tuberculosis. Usually, it is the first immunization that is administrated right after birth, though it can be done at any point within 12 months of the birth.
2. Polio Vaccine
Polio vaccine fights against the possibility of polio and is given as an oral dose. It is administered multiple times to children below 5 years of old. In India, it is given free of cost by Government in India in several hospitals and healthcare facilities.
3. DPT Vaccine
DPT provides protection against three diseases, namely- Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus. There are altogether 5 doses meant to be administrated at the age of 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, between 15 to 18 months and last one between 4 to 6 years.
4. Measles Vaccine
Measles vaccine is a mandatory immunization that mitigates the risks of measles, an extremely contagious viral infection that causes diarrhoea, and pneumonia. It is a subcutaneously administrated vaccine that is injected just beneath the skin when the child is 9 months old.
5. Hib Vaccine
Hib vaccine mitigates the risks of meningitis, a disease that infects the child’s spinal cord and brain. This vaccine is administrated four times, at the ages of 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months.
6. MMR Vaccine
MMR vaccine stands for all three diseases it provides protection against, namely, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. It is an administration in two dosages, first between 12 to 15 months and the second one between 4 to 6 years.
7. Rotavirus Vaccine
This vaccine mitigates the possibility of rotavirus infection that can lead to severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Usually, the dose is administrated at the age of 4 and 6 months old.
Apart from these crucial vaccines, few others are recommended as well, such as Influenza vaccine, Hepatitis vaccine, and Chickenpox vaccine (also known as the Varicella vaccine) to mitigate the possibility of chicken pox. Though many parents skip chicken pox vaccine as the body develops immunity after getting infected once. However, these additional vaccines are also recommended for children, especially to the ones with a weak immune system.
A Brief Introduction of Polio and Its Vaccine
Polio is one of the most dreadful diseases that frightens parents more than any other disease. The main being the fact that polio is uncurable, the best strategy is the prevention of the same. Several children from all over the India, seek treatment for physical disability and paralysis (partial or total) in the best hospitals. Let’s understand it in brief along with its remedy.
Polio is a generalized term for poliomyelitis. It is caused by either of the three species of poliovirus. It enters the body through the mouth and multiply rapidly and reach the digestive system. It highly contagious as it can spread through oral, nasal secretion and also through contaminated fecal materials. In several cases, it does not show any symptoms of the same. But several times, it enters the bloodstream and damages the nerve cells eventually. This results in paralysis and early death as well, if proper treatment is not provided on time.
Polio is perhaps one of the oldest illness that can be found in the closet of the human history. It can be traced to as early as ancient Egypt, 1400 BC. It became an epidemic in the early 1900s and then began the hunt for its proper treatment. The anti-polio vaccine was developed using inactivated and weekend poliovirus. There are two kinds of vaccine and mode of its administration and they both are registered as WHO’s list of essential medicines.
IPV- The inactive poliovirus is administrated in the body through injection. It was first developed by Jonas Salk and it came into commercial use in the year 1955.
OPV- the weekend poliovirus is administrated in the body through oral dosage. It was first developed by Albert Sabin came into commercial use in the year 1961.
As per the guideline of WHO (World Health Organization), every child of age 5 years or less, is supposed to be given poliovirus. The polio vaccine is extremely effective and has successfully agitated polio from the most of the world population. If considered statistically, the number of cases registered for polio has reduced from 350000 to just 37 in the past three decades.
On this World Polio Day on 24th October, we encourage every parent and guardians to get their infants the adequate dosage of polio. Also, we pay our respects to all the doctors and researchers who worked hard to invent and modify the polio vaccine and healthcare facilities, government and Nonprofit institute’s initiatives which, made it possible for every child on the planet to get the dosage of the same.