Whether or not to give vaccines to children should not be a topic of constant debate. They are essential to prevent and eradicate many diseases. Hence, it is necessary to eliminate myths and false beliefs.
Vaccine schedule: when to give vaccines to children
The vaccination schedule we have in our country is one of the best in the world, as it covers most of the vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination begins in the maternity ward with the administration of the hepatitis B vaccine, which will be repeated at two and six months of age. Vaccination against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, tetanus, pertussis and hemophilus B begins at two months of age and is repeated at four, six and 18 months, with a booster for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis at 5 years of age and for tetanus and diphtheria at 14 years of age. The meningococcal C vaccine is administered at four and 12 months and at 12 years of age, and the pneumococcal vaccine is started at two months and repeated at four and 15 months of age. The rubella, measles, mumps, mumps and varicella vaccines are also administered at one year of age and will be repeated at three years of age. Finally, girls are vaccinated against human papillomavirus at 12 years of age.
It should be noted that the vaccine schedule is under continuous review, so that in the near future the vaccination intervals could be modified and new vaccines could be included, such as rotavirus and meningococcus B, for which vaccines are available in pharmacies but are not financed by the public health system.
Consequences of not vaccinating
Fortunately for the unvaccinated, as there is such a high vaccination rate in our country, it is difficult for a child not vaccinated for a vaccine-preventable disease to be infected, but if an outbreak appears for any reason, as happened last year in Olot with the case of diphtheria, which caused the death of an unvaccinated child, the risk for this group is very high. Unvaccinated children are taking advantage of the fact that their peers are vaccinated. The best example is to imagine a swimming pool full of children who do not know how to swim but wear life jackets (i.e. they are vaccinated). If an unvaccinated child enters the pool without a lifejacket, he/she will be able to catch the rest of the children and will not drown, but if at a certain moment the collective protection fails, the child will drown.
Risks of not vaccinating
As pediatric experts state, vaccination is a right that all children have. Vaccines are safe and the protection they confer is very high, but unfortunately, there may be vaccination failures for various reasons, which are rare but do exist. On the other hand, there is a group of children who have some kind of allergy to some component of the vaccines and cannot be vaccinated. These children who wish to be protected can be affected by unvaccinated patients by parental decision who become infected and can transmit the disease with fatal consequences in many cases.
Why some parents and associations promote non-vaccination
The anti-vaccination movements are driven, above all, by naturopathic groups who do not accept any type of medication or prophylaxis because, in their beliefs, they think that they will harm them. Vaccines are safe and, after water purification, have been the preventive measure that has prevented the most deaths in the world. On the other hand, the use of the Internet, which is becoming more and more widespread, means that many people without information or criteria trust everything that appears on the networks thinking that it is truthful information and decide not to vaccinate.
What is true in the beliefs that vaccines produce diseases such as autism or diabetes?
It is totally false, it is a myth that must be eliminated. The issue that the MMR vaccine (rubella, measles and mumps) caused autism due to the mercury component it contained caused many parents in England to stop vaccinating their children, causing an epidemic of measles that, in some cases, was fatal. The doctor who published the study acknowledged that he had manipulated the results and is now banned for life from practicing medicine and the international research journal that published the article had to publicly apologize. Vaccine side effects are very rare and the cases that appear in the public opinion are problems coincident with the vaccine administered and not consequent to it.
Diphtheria case: how it affects the patient
Diphtheria is a bacterial disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae that mainly affects children under six years of age. It is transmitted by direct contact through droplets of saliva produced by coughing or sneezing. If the child is infected because he/she has not been vaccinated, it causes a catarrhal condition that progresses with pain on swallowing, lymph nodes in the neck, increased body temperature and the presence of a membrane in the tonsillar area. This membrane is responsible for the fatal clinical stage of the disease by causing progressive respiratory distress that requires, in most cases, the performance of a tracheotomy so that the child can receive assisted respiration.
In the past, this disease caused many deaths. Thanks to vaccination, diphtheria cases in Spain had disappeared more than 25 years ago. Unfortunately, however, a case appeared last year in Olot with fatal consequences for the affected child. Treatment is with antibiotics and administration of diphtheria antitoxin.