C H I L D R E N ' S
H E A L T H
CHILDHOOD VACCINATION EXPLAINED The current pandemic has put into sharp focus the value that immunisation can have in protecting us against diseases. We interviewed Consultant Paediatrician Dr Shahid Ali from Mediclinic Dubai Mall for his views on the implications and recommendations for vaccination in childhood. What does ‘vaccination’ mean?
How do vaccinations work?
Vaccination means giving a product that stimulates a person's immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, thereby protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.
A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly as it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease without having to get the disease first. This is what makes vaccines such a powerful medicine.
What diseases do the most common vaccines protect against?
Why is it important for children to have vaccines?
Under the basic vaccination schedule in the UAE, the following diseases are covered by giving vaccination to infants and children: Tuberculosis, Rotavirus, Pneumococcal Infection, Hepatitis B, Polio, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Diphtheria, Haemophilus Influenzae Type B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella (Chicken Pox). In addition, there are other vaccines available for diseases such as Meningococcal Meningitis, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, Influenza and Human Papilloma Virus (to prevent cervical cancer in women.)
We all believe in the phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’. Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but there are some deadly diseases they can’t handle. That’s why they need vaccines to strengthen their immune system. Before the development of vaccines, infections used to kill millions of children and adults worldwide. Now with very comprehensive vaccination programs available in most countries, we hardly see those killer diseases.
36 | JUNE-JULY 2020 | MOTHER, BABY & CHILD
