As summer winds down, parents will soon be scrambling to get their kids ready for a new school year, and Yvonne Maldonado, MD, chief of infectious disease at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, is encouraging parents to get vaccinations checked off their list before school starts. In a hospital news release, Maldonado answers vaccination questions and discusses the importance of getting children up to date on their shots. She says:
The major danger is that children will be exposed to diseases that the vaccines protect against. These are diseases that can be deadly, or can keep children at home and unable to go to school or after-school activities. And, they can be transmitted to other children as well.
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I believe the whole vaccine schedule is very important, not only to protect a child from infection during the first few years of life, but also as he or she grows. More information on immunization schedules can be found at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. These recommended vaccines are carefully reviewed by the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration several times per year. Follow your pediatrician’s recommended vaccine schedule to be sure that your child is up to date on all of his or her immunizations against these dangerous diseases – for example, measles and whooping cough – which can cause major sickness and death in children. It is a well-established schedule, which is published every year and is also built into all well-child visits.
Maldonado's comments follow a recent report showing that measles is on the rise in the U.S.
Previously: Washington state starts school year with tougher requirements for vaccine exemptions, Vaccination could eliminate chicken pox-related deaths in the U.S., How to save $83 billion? Vaccinate, A look at the causes and potential cost of the U.S. measles outbreaks and Unvaccinated children may pose a public health risk
Photo by Redcorn Studios [Matt]
