Vaccines against these infections have not yet been included in the national calendar. Although many of these diseases threaten with serious complications, including death.
By law, parents decide for themselves whether to vaccinate a child or not. Of course, there is a national calendar – a vaccination plan drawn up by the Ministry of Health. But even he is not a decree for you. On the other hand, the child will have problems entering kindergarten or school. A copy of the vaccination certificate is also required in private educational institutions.
Of course, you can defend your child’s right to education without vaccinations. But will you be able to protect him from those terrible diseases and their consequences that vaccination can prevent?
The chances of getting sick and getting complications are hundreds of times greater than the likelihood of complications after vaccinations. If we compare how many children die in car accidents and children who are affected by vaccinations, these numbers are almost incommensurable. However, no one says: “We will not take the child in the car, because it is dangerous,” but they refuse vaccinations.
Most vaccines are given in the first year of life – this is the most optimal period. A baby who drinks breast milk receives the necessary antibodies with it up to 6 months. From half a year, the protective properties of breastfeeding are reduced. There are significantly fewer antibodies in milk. However, the child does not go to kindergarten yet, does not contact other children. Therefore, he does not get sick as often as, for example, children at two years old.
Many vaccinations can be given on the same day. So if the pediatrician gave permission, it is better not to prolong the vaccination and do it according to the plan drawn up by the Ministry of Health. If the child is allergic or has atopic dermatitis, the vaccine is given in remission. In addition, it is worth taking a course of antihistamines 3-7 days before vaccination and several days after.
What diseases are children vaccinated against according to the national calendar:
Hepatitis B – on the first day of life, then at 1 month and six months. Children at risk (born to mothers with hepatitis B) are vaccinated 4 times – on the first day of life, a month, two and then a year.
Tuberculosis – on the 3rd-7th day of life. Revaccination at 6-7 years old.
Pneumococcus – at 2 and 4,5 months. Revaccination at 15 months.
Diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus – at 3, 4,5 and 6 months. Revaccination against three infections in a year and a half. Two repeated revaccinations against diphtheria and tetanus – at 6–7 and 14 years old.
Polio – at 3, 4,5 and 6 months. Then three revaccinations: at 18, 20 months and at 14 years old.
Measles, rubella, mumps – in year. Revaccination at 6 years old.
Vaccinations against these diseases are given in children’s clinics free of charge. However, there are vaccines that are not included in the national calendar, but it will also not be superfluous to make them:
1. Vaccination against rotavirus infection. Having caught this disease, a person suffers from severe vomiting, diarrhea, he has a high fever, dehydration sets in. Rotavirus is especially dangerous for a baby, because we cannot make him drink water, and he himself does not feel thirsty yet. In the United States, rotavirus vaccination is on the national calendar. American researchers have already calculated that since the vaccine became mandatory, hospitalization of children in the United States for rotavirus has dropped to 90 percent. Of course, you can get sick with the vaccine, but not in such a severe form. The child will no longer be admitted to the hospital, where he can pick up other bacteria, will not be given droppers, and will not be prescribed antibiotics.
However, you need to have time to vaccinate a baby against rotavirus before he turns six months. Moreover, it is necessary to make three injections with an interval of a month. After six months, the child most often grasps his first rotavirus infection, so the vaccine is useless.
2. Vaccination against hemophilus influenza. In the USA, England and Germany, vaccination against this disease is included in the national calendar. In our country, the vaccine is given only to risk groups: immunocompromised babies born to mothers with HIV, children with HIV, as well as children in orphanages. Meanwhile, Haemophilus influenzae can end up for a child with purulent meningitis, pneumonia, arthritis, as well as sepsis – a purulent lesion of the whole organism. So immunity from this infection will not be superfluous. A baby up to six months is given 3 injections. A child from 6 to 12 months – two vaccines. After a year, one vaccination is enough. Haemophilus influenza vaccine can be given up to 5 years. However, you should not delay with it – for a baby up to a year old, the injection is especially relevant.
3. Vaccination against meningococcal infection. A disease that threatens with complications such as deafness, epilepsy, paralysis, speech impairment, and mental development problems. Preschool children are especially susceptible to serous meningitis. Vaccination is done once, starting from one and a half years.
4. Vaccination against chickenpox. If a child becomes infected with chickenpox at preschool age, it is considered not scary. However, the disease has a very unpleasant complication – it damages not only the skin and mucous membranes, but also nerve cells. Chickenpox is usually mild in young children. But in one out of a hundred cases, a child develops a very serious complication – chickenpox encephalitis, or brain inflammation.
In older children – schoolchildren, adolescents, as well as in adults, chickenpox is especially difficult. The rash period lasts up to 2 weeks. And the patient is also tormented by severe itching, intoxication, inflammation of the mucous membranes, when even eating becomes a real torment. The same virus in adulthood causes shingles or herpes zoster – very painful rashes that will take 3-4 weeks to heal.
In Europe, America and Japan, chickenpox vaccination has been carried out since the 70s of the last century. There, vaccination is mandatory. Vaccinations can be carried out from a year, twice with an interval of 6 weeks.
5. Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis. If a family with children lives in the country or plans to go out into the countryside in the summer, into the forest, or even just walk in the parks, it is necessary to get vaccinated. In Russia, cases of tick-borne encephalitis infection among children are recorded every year. The consequences are dire: neurological, psychiatric complications and even death. The vaccination is done twice, and then every year you need to undergo revaccination. Babies can be vaccinated from 1 year old.
6. Vaccination against human papillomavirus. The vaccine for this disease is included in the national calendar of the USA, Great Britain and Germany. For a woman, the virus can end in cervical cancer. Therefore, the vaccine is given to teenage girls 13-14 years old before their sexual activity. Flu shot. Everyone is susceptible to this virus, but children are at high risk. In addition to serious complications (pneumonia, meningitis, encephalitis, liver damage and other diseases), influenza is often fatal. Most deaths from the virus occur in children under 2 years of age. So for a child who attends a nursery or kindergarten, such a vaccination is necessary. The flu vaccine can be given from 6 months of age. Children from six months to 3 years old who are vaccinated for the first time are given two injections with an interval of 1 month. Further, vaccination is carried out every year at least one month before the seasonal rise in the incidence.
Before taking a ticket to a foreign resort, consult a pediatrician, without which vaccines it is undesirable to travel to a particular country. So, in all southern countries you need to come vaccinated from polio, measles, rubella, mumps… Of the vaccines that are not included in the national calendar:
Vaccination against hepatitis A. The vaccine should be done before traveling to countries in Africa (including Egypt and Tunisia), Asia (Turkey, Central Asia, India and Southeast Asia, including the islands), some countries in South America and the Caribbean. You can vaccinate children from a year. A second injection should be given in 6-18 months. Immunity builds up within 2 weeks after the first dose, so be sure to get vaccinated early when planning your trip.
Yellow fever vaccine. The vaccine against this disease is the only one that is included in the International Certificate and is required when traveling to a number of countries in Africa and South America. The vaccination can be given to children from 9 months of age and no later than 10 days before leaving for endemic areas.
Vaccination against typhoid fever. Outbreaks are reported annually in India, South America, Africa and Asia. In 1–2 weeks, the vaccine will create immunity from infection. Children can be vaccinated from the age of three. Repeated vaccinations are carried out every three years.