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Once-forgotten diseases have returned to the forefront of everyones attention after outbreaks like the recent Measles cases.

Unvaccinated children are around 25 times more likely to get contagious diseases like Measles, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

And unfortunately, unvaccinated children make up a large proportion of children in Michigan. According to I Vaccinate, only 59% of Michigan toddlers are up to date on all of their recommended vaccines.

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On a larger scale, the World Health Organization named vaccine hesitancy one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.

SEE ALSO: Whats Causing the Latest Measles Outbreak?

Misconceptions about the recommended vaccine schedule, or vaccines in general, have led parents to opt out or delay vaccines, putting their children and others at risk of preventable diseases, says Aarti Raheja, M.D., a pediatrician at C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital.

Some parents worry combination vaccines may harm their baby or overwhelm their immune system. This causes parents to delay certain vaccines or follow an alternative, or non-standard vaccine schedule.

The CDC refers to the alternative schedule as non-standard as opposed to alternative, which is how I address it with families because there isnt an alternative, says Raheja. No research has been done on non-standard schedules, so we dont know if they are safe or if a child would be protected.

The 2019 recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedules have been approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Raheja adds: The recommended vaccine schedule is the only evidenced-based schedule that has been researched for safety and efficacy. It provides all the necessary protection that can be given to children with the least amount of risk.

Vaccines are added to the schedule based on when an infant is likely to be most susceptible to the disease. Administering vaccines at scheduled intervals provides the broadest immunologic protection to children when theyre most vulnerable, minimizes the number of shots needed and office visits.

Getting all the recommended vaccines at one visit provides the best protection. Studies have shown that spacing out vaccinations over multiple visits causes children more stress and leaves them vulnerable to disease, according to Raheja.

Read this article:
Follow the Right Path: A Traditional Vaccine Schedule - University of Michigan Health System News

This entry was posted on January 26, 2020 at 4:48 am and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |