18 most basic questions - answers about vaccines prepared by CDC (USA)

Compliance with vaccination schedule for children is generally recommended by the Health sector. However, there are still many questions surrounding vaccination, such as vaccination schedule, safety of vaccines, side effects and the ability of vaccines to prevent disease...

Safety of vaccines

1. Are vaccines dangerous?

No, vaccines are very safe. The healthcare industry has always made sure that vaccine supplies are as safe as possible. Millions of children are safely vaccinated each year. Vaccine side effects, if any, are usually very mild, such as pain or swelling at the injection site.

2. What are the risks and benefits of vaccines?

Vaccines can prevent infectious diseases that once threatened or harmed many babies, children and adults. Without vaccines, children are at risk for serious illnesses (such as measles and whooping cough), causing pain, disability, and even death.
The main risks of getting the vaccine are only mild side effects (redness and swelling at the injection site) that go away on their own after a few days. Very rarely, serious vaccine side effects (such as allergies). What's more, the doctors and health care workers are all trained to handle if a child is at any risk after being immunized.
Overall, the preventive benefits of vaccination far outweigh the possible side effects. In exceptional cases, the risk is only present in children with a serious chronic illness, such as cancer, a disease that weakens the immune system, or a severe allergy to a vaccine.

Tiêm — Vắc xin có thể ngăn ngừa các bệnh truyền nhiễm đã từng đe dọa tính mạng

3. Since when are vaccines available?

In 1796, when there was a smallpox epidemic in Europe, an English doctor named Edward Jenner successfully performed the first vaccine trial to prevent this disease. In the 19th century, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur researched and confirmed resistance to cholera pathogens, paving the way for modern immunology.

Side effects from vaccination

4. What are the effects of vaccines when put into the body?

Every day, a healthy child's immune system successfully defeats thousands of different types of germs. The antigens in the vaccine come from the same bacteria, but are weakened or dead (inactivated) so they cannot cause disease. Germ antigens spur the immune system to work and produce antibodies to fight disease.
Vaccines provide the body with the antibodies it needs to fight serious vaccine-preventable diseases. Even when children get multiple shots at once, vaccines contain only a tiny fraction of the antigens we encounter each day in the environment.

5. What are the side effects of the vaccine?

Like other medicines, vaccines can also cause some side effects. However, most of these symptoms are usually very mild, such as soreness at the injection or a low-grade fever, which only lasts a few days and is easy to treat. For example, parents can apply a cool, wet washcloth to their child's painful area to ease discomfort.
Very rarely serious vaccine side effects have occurred. A doctor should be consulted if a child experiences any signs that concern parents.

Vaccination schedule

6. Why is it important to vaccinate children at a very early age?

The immunization schedule recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) helps babies and young children receive immunity from the first years of life, protecting them before they are at risk of infection. deal with dangerous diseases. Children must be vaccinated early because a number of diseases are susceptible to childhood, which can have very serious and even life-threatening consequences.

Các trường hợp chống chỉ định, tạm hoãn tiêm phòng cho bé — Trẻ em phải được tiêm chủng sớm vì một số căn bệnh dễ mắc từ nhỏ, có thể để lại hậu quả rất nghiêm trọng

7. Should children get vaccinated if they are sick?

Usually, children can still be vaccinated even if they have a mild illness such as a cold, earache, low-grade fever or diarrhea. However, parents should present and consult with the doctor first, if the doctor allows, the child can still be vaccinated normally.

8. Can some vaccines be delayed or skipped according to the recommended schedule?

Delaying or skipping any dose of vaccine leaves children with the best protection during a high-risk period. For example, illnesses such as pneumonia, meningitis, or pneumococcal disease almost always occur during the first 2 years of a child's life. Some diseases, such as hepatitis B and pertussis, are more severe in young children.
Subjective psychology and disregard for children's vaccination not only does not bring any benefits, but also puts children at risk of serious illnesses, which can require hospitalization or be life-threatening . Therefore, taking children to get vaccinated according to the recommended vaccination schedule is the most effective measure, helping to protect the health of children from an early age.

9. Are vaccines just for babies and children? Why do teenagers need vaccines too?

Vaccines are recommended throughout a person's life to protect health and help the body fight serious diseases. As the effectiveness of vaccines given in childhood wanes, adolescents should continue to receive vaccinations to strengthen their immune systems. In addition, adolescents also need to build up the ability to prevent some new diseases, before their risk increases in adulthood.

10. Do breastfed babies need vaccinations on time?

The immune system is not fully developed immediately after birth, making the newborn more susceptible to bacterial attack. Although breast milk provides extra resistance to a baby's developing immune system, breast-feeding babies are less prone to ear infections, respiratory infections and diarrhea; However, breast milk cannot protect babies from all diseases. Vaccines are the only way to prevent many diseases. Therefore, breastfed infants still need long-term protection with all recommended age-appropriate vaccines.

11. Do children who do not go to kindergarten and stay at home completely do not need prevention? Can I wait until my child starts school to get vaccinated?

No. Even young children cared for at home can catch the disease from their parents, other siblings, or visitors. Before going to school, children can still catch the disease through contact with others outside, such as passengers on an airplane, caregivers of children or even at shops. Some people already have the disease but don't know it yet because they don't have symptoms, passing it on to babies and young children.
Especially, children under 5 years old are susceptible to diseases because their immune systems are still weak. Vaccination should not be delayed until children start school, children need to be protected now from the risks of some serious and vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccine types, dosage and composition

12. Why do some vaccines have to be given more than once?

Immunization with the full recommended dose of each vaccine will provide the child with the best protection. Depending on the vaccine, your child will need more than 1 dose to:
Build immunity high enough to prevent illness; Strengthens immunity weakened over time; Ensure the child is protected as much as possible if not immune after the first dose; Resistance to time-varying pathogens, such as influenza.

13. What is a conjugate vaccine? How many types of vaccines are called combinations?

Combination vaccines protect children against many diseases with just one shot. Combination vaccines reduce the number of vaccinations, which not only saves time and money, but also reduces side effects when vaccinating children.
Some common combination vaccines are:
Pediarix®: Combination of DTap, HepB and IPV (polio); ProQuad®: Combines MMR and varicella (chicken pox).

14. What are the ingredients in the vaccine?

Vaccines contain ingredients that cause the body to develop immunity and small amounts of other substances. All ingredients play a necessary role in the creation of a vaccine, ensuring that the final product is safe and effective.

The ability to prevent disease

15. Is chickenpox just a mild illness? Why do children need the chickenpox vaccine?

Children need chickenpox vaccine because it is a serious illness. Most children have mild chickenpox, but there are also cases with severe blistering or pneumonia. Before the vaccine, about 50 children died every year from chickenpox and about 1/500 children with chickenpox were hospitalized.

Làm thế nào để thủy đậu không để lại sẹo? — Trẻ cần tiêm vắc xin thủy đậu vì đây thực sự là một căn bệnh nghiêm trọng

16. Why do babies still need cough and flu vaccines even though the mother was fully vaccinated during pregnancy?

Antibodies that a mother passes on to her baby before birth will help protect her against whooping cough and flu. However, these antibodies will only work for a short time, so your baby still needs to be vaccinated on the recommended schedule to start building his own immunity against dangerous diseases.

17. Do newborns have natural immunity and are better than vaccines?

Newborns can receive protective antibodies from their mothers during the last few weeks of pregnancy, but only for certain diseases. Breastfeeding also provides temporary protection from mild infections, such as a cold. However, these antibodies do not last long and the baby will be susceptible to illness early in life.
In addition, natural immunity also occurs when the child has been infected with an illness, such as chickenpox. While providing better immunity than vaccination, natural immunity is more risky because of the potential complications of the disease. Meanwhile, the vaccine only causes arm pain for a short time.

18. Why do some diseases that have been brought under nationwide control and have high rates of community immunity still need vaccination?

Some vaccine-preventable diseases, such as rubella and chickenpox, are still common in our country. On the other hand, there are those that are no longer popular thanks to vaccines. However, if vaccination is stopped, a few cases of the disease can spread very quickly, breaking out into tens or hundreds of thousands of cases.
Many serious vaccine-preventable diseases are still common in other parts of the world. Even without traveling abroad, children can still come into contact with international tourists anywhere in the community. Children who are not fully immunized with all vaccines when exposed to the virus can become seriously ill and spread rapidly.
Vinmec International General Hospital is currently providing a Package Immunization Program with a variety of vaccines for different audiences, from infants, young children, adults, women before and during pregnant.
Particularly in December 2019, Vinmec will give you free newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine (immunization right after birth) for your baby when you sign up for a Package Immunization Package for children aged 0-1 or 0-2 year old .

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Reference source: cdc.gov

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