Vaccinations
Feeding? CHECK! Changing? CHECK! Bathing? CHECK! Laundry? CHECK! Baby-proofing? CHECK! Birth registration? CHECK! Vaccinations scheduled? Well... I remember seeing something about that...
Photo by Joshua Rodriguez on Unsplash
There’s a lot to think about when your little one arrives and we can get overloaded with information and opinions, but when it comes to vaccinating your child against deadly diseases we need to make sure we are making the right decisions.
Here at Jinga Life we feel that, all parents should listen to their pediatricians and government health departments who have a highly qualified and deep understanding of the issues regarding vaccinations as opposed to the politicians and celebrities advocating against them. Vaccinations are necessary to prevent and eradicate diseases that left untreated can lead to severe illness, paralysis and in some cases even death.
“Well it’s my decision and it really doesn’t have anything to do with you,” some parents may argue. But that’s simply not true. Deciding not to vaccinate your child not only puts your child at risk of disease but also endangers other children physically incapable of receiving vaccinations, due to allergies and other factors. It’s not just about the child receiving the vaccine, it’s also about preventing and eradicating these illnesses to stop the spread of disease through ‘herd immunisation’, helping protect members of the wider community at a higher risk. To help with this, many governments are also now requiring mandatory vaccinations for any child entering the public school system, with limited exceptions.
Vaccinating your child is not only important in the community and on a national level, globally, vaccinations save millions of lives every year. UNICEF and its partners encourage parents and healthcare providers to think big and help them ensure that no child dies from vaccine preventable diseases. They administered nearly 2 billion vaccine doses to children around the world in 2012 alone. According to the WHO, vaccines save up to 3 million lives per year against 26 diseases, however almost 20 million children miss out every year. Vaccinating your baby according to your country’s schedule (varying from country to country) is obviously crucial then in stopping the spread of disease in the global community.
While vaccines are safe there are possible side effects to consider in some cases such as lethargy, upset stomach, allergies, slight fever, and soreness in the area of the injection but these side effects are minor compared to how seriously ill your child could become if they did not receive the necessary vaccinations.
In Ireland you can plan your baby’s vaccination schedule on immunisation.ie and manage the process through Jinga Life. A child’s health is the most important thing in the world to their parents and vaccinating your child will help keep all children safe from disease across the world.
