Why are vaccines important for children as they return to school?
Vaccines play a significant role in protecting the health of children, especially as they return to school. School settings are common places for many children to come into close contact with one another, increasing the risk of spreading infectious diseases when not protected. Vaccines help in preventing the spread of disease outbreaks, such as pertussis (whooping cough) and measles, from occurring. Therefore, vaccinating school-aged children against these diseases not only results in protecting them from serious illness – which could lead to severe complications and hospitalization – but also in protecting their loved ones, peers, and community from getting infected with vaccine-preventable diseases.
To learn more about childhood vaccines, visit Immunize Canada’s Kids and Teens webpages.
Can you explain how vaccines contribute to herd immunity within schools and the broader community?
Our body produces antibodies to help us get better when we are sick with a disease. Immunity occurs when these antibodies stay in your body even after the disease is gone, and protect you from getting the same illness again. Herd immunity (also known as community immunity) is a form of group protection where most people in a community are immune to a contagious disease, preventing it from spreading as easily.
Vaccination contributes to herd immunity by triggering an immune response in the body without the consequence of becoming ill from a disease. Vaccines work by means of antigens (an antigen is a component or weakened form of bacteria or virus that does not cause disease) that teaches your immune system how to protect you against a specific disease. Once a person is immunized against a disease, specific immune cells called memory cells prevent re-infection when they encounter that virus or bacteria again in the future. Different vaccines protect against different types of bacteria or viruses. To ensure you have full and lasting protection, you may need to get more that one dose of some vaccines. That is why it is important for everyone, including school-aged children, to stay up to date on their immunizations.
Immunizing your children is not just about personal protection: it’s also about community protection. Herd immunity through vaccination is crucial within schools and the broader community; it not only protects your child from getting sick with a serious illness, but also protects people in the community, especially newborns who are too young to be immunized, people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (immunocompromised, organ transplants, cancer treatment, allergic reactions), and people with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly. For these groups, ‘herd immunity’ is vital.
To learn more about how vaccines work, visit Immunize Canada’s Learn about Immunization webpages.
How can parents ensure their children are following the recommended vaccine schedule and why is adhering to this schedule so important? What resources are available to assist them?
Parents can ensure their children are up to date and following the recommended vaccination schedules in their province or territory by consulting their health care provider and/or local public health office – which are also two helpful resources that keep copies of your immunization records. While routine vaccination is offered at no charge to Canadians, schedules may differ among provinces and territories. A helpful online resource for parents to visit is the Government of Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Immunization Information webpage, to learn more about the recommended vaccine schedule in their specific province or territory.
Adhering to the recommend vaccination schedule is important because it is designed to protect children before they are exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases. Routine childhood immunization schedules are based on scientific evidence and recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. The earliest and safest time for your child’s routine immunizations to begin is at the age of 2 months. Some vaccines need 2 or 3 doses before they can offer full protection, so it is important to begin early to provide optimal protection. Delaying vaccines is not recommended; it can be risky to your child’s health. Vaccines work best when they are given on time, including all recommended doses.
If you are looking for some quick answers about immunization, visit Immunize Canada’s Questions and Answers webpage.
What are some common misconceptions about children’s vaccines and how can parents address these concerns?
Despite the wide range of available, evidence-based resources proving that vaccines are safe and effective, misinformation still persists. Some common misconceptions of children’s vaccines include:
- Myth: Vaccines, particularly the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, cause autism.
Fact: There is no evidence that MMR vaccines cause autism. The myth was fabricated by a doctor in the United Kingdom who published this disinformation in a fraudulent paper in 1998 that has now been discredited and retracted. The doctor who authored the paper had his medical license revoked for using falsified data.
- Myth: Vaccines overwhelm the immune system.
Fact: No. In fact, our body comes into contact with millions of germs daily, causing our immune systems to work continuously to protect us. Therefore, exposure to antigens (parts of weak or dead viruses or bacteria) in vaccines is easily handled by our immune systems.
- Myth: Vaccines are no longer necessary for some diseases.
Fact: Vaccine are still necessary to maintain herd immunity against many diseases. Even if a vaccine-preventable disease such as polio is no longer widespread in a specific country, it is still prevalent in other parts of the world and can be easily reintroduced by individuals who are not protected and who travel to an infected region. If vaccination rates drop, infection can easily reappear and be transmitted from country to country. That is why it is important to keep up to date on routine vaccinations.
While there is an overload of misinformation present, it can still be combatted. Parents can address these concerns by speaking to their health care provider and/or local public health office about any questions they have regarding the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. For more tips on how the address vaccine misinformation, check out Immunize Canada’s factsheet, Immunization Information on the Internet: Can you trust what you read? To help combat and debunk vaccine misinformation online, share Immunize Canada’s Myth-Busting Monday posts on social media.
Learn more by visiting immunize.ca.
