Evetts: Prevention Through Vaccination – Entertainment and Life – BC Democrat Online – Las Animas, CO



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I am always amazed at the speed of the summer. Just a few days ago, my kids came out of school for the summer and had big plans for how they would sleep, spend time with their friends and stay awake at all hours of the day. morning.

I blinked and suddenly it was time to think about getting ready for the school to start over. There are reading homework from summer to finish, school clothes to buy and school supplies to buy. It's a hectic time for parents and students.

In all this preschool frenzy, it is easy to forget an important element of the checklist, vaccination. Vaccinations are one of the major achievements of the last century in public health. Vaccines, as they are also called, have reduced the incidence of disease and the number of deaths caused by certain diseases.

Through vaccination, smallpox, a painful and scarring disease that had already killed 30% of those infected, was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization in the early 1980s. Other diseases such as that tetanus, diphtheria, rubella and poliomyelitis have been significantly reduced through vigilant vaccination efforts around the world.

Nevertheless, the success of vaccinations in reducing diseases does not mean that these diseases have been eliminated. Measles in the United States is a good example.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before 1963, almost everyone had measles, which resulted in about 48,000 hospitalizations per year and 450 to 500 deaths per year in the United States. In 2000, as a result of vigorous and persistent immunization efforts by Americans, there had not been a single case of the disease in the United States. In 2019, there were more than 1,000 cases in the United States, mostly in unvaccinated populations.

Measles is very contagious. In case of exposure to the virus, 9 out of 10 people who are not vaccinated against the disease or who are not immunized before will contract the disease. Measles can cause pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) or death. The measles vaccine is the best way to protect your child from the disease.

Although vaccines are effective, there is still the question "Are they safe?" In the United States, vaccines are rigorously researched and tested before being made public. Although no vaccine is 100% safe, the benefits usually outweigh the risks.

Many myths and misinformation circulate on the Internet and on social media sites. Extensive research has dispelled these myths.

There are, however, situations in which vaccines are not appropriate, for example for newborns, pregnant women or immunocompromised patients. The best place to start is your primary health care provider, who can help you badess your child's vaccine and vaccine needs, as per CDC guidelines, and discuss benefits and risks with you. depending on your child's medical history.

The state of Colorado requires vaccines for all children in daycare, kindergarten to grade 12 and college. The vaccines against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, inactivated poliovirus, measles, mumps and rubella and chickenpox are common requirements for early childhood centers and children. 39, school age from kindergarten to grade 12. . In addition, vaccines against pneumonia and hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) are required for children admitted to early childhood centers. For university students, the MMR vaccine and a meningitis vaccine are needed.

The law allows exemptions for medical reasons, personal beliefs or religious purposes. However, parents must complete an exemption form that is kept in the records of your child's school every year. In case of epidemic, children enjoying an immunization exemption can be excluded from school to protect them from the disease.

Vaccines are generally covered by most insurers. There are also federal programs such as Program 317 and VFC (Vaccines for All Children) that provide routine immunization for people without insurance. Vaccines are available from your health care provider, local pharmacies and the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment.

If you have questions about immunization, you can contact the Pueblo Department of Public Health and the Environment at 583-4380. Additional resources are available through the CDC at www.cdc.gov or the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, at www.colorado .gov / CDPHE.

Good luck for the next school year. We hope this year will be a healthy and safe year for you and your family.

Below is the list of vaccines and the number of deer per grade from the Ministry of Public Health and the Colorado Environment:

Garden of children

5 doses of DTaP
4 doses of polio
3 doses of hepatitis B
2 doses of MMR
2 doses of chickenpox
The optional vaccine for this age is hepatitis A if it has not been filled previously

6th year

In addition to the above vaccines
1 dose of Tdap
Optional vaccines at this age include hepatitis A if not previously completed, HPV and meningococcal disease.

University

meningococcus

Randy Evetts, public health director of the Pueblo Ministry of Public Health and the Environment, resides in Pueblo. To learn more about Pueblo's public health services and programs, call 719-583-4513 or e-mail [email protected].

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