3 benefits of the first vaccines

The first vaccines help protect children early and effectively against infectious agents, saving families money.

Dr. Bui Thanh Phong, Medical Manager, VNVC Vaccination System, said that many parents have proactively brought their children to VNVC for early hepatitis B vaccination in the past two months, in the context that some public health facilities have run out of vaccines. This is a sign that parents are increasingly aware of disease prevention for children from the newborn stage.

According to Dr. Phong, some injections will no longer be effective if given late, for example, the vaccine to prevent acute diarrhea caused by Rota virus should be completed before 8 months of age, vaccination will no longer be effective after this time. Or the BCG tuberculosis vaccine is most effective when given within the first 24 hours after birth, and is less or not effective in young children and adults.

Protection up to 95%

Thanks to the achievements of vaccines, many pandemics in the world have been eliminated or the number of cases has been significantly reduced, such as smallpox, Covid-19, polio, measles... According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in its State of the World's Children 2023 Summary Report , vaccination saves 4.4 million lives each year. Of these, about 3 million children are saved from highly fatal infectious diseases. If vaccination rates are maintained, vaccines could protect 5.8 million people each year by 2030.

Children receive their first vaccinations at VNVC. Photo: Nhat Linh — Children receive their first vaccinations at VNVC. Photo: *Nhat Linh*

According to Dr. Phong, young children have an incomplete immune system and are susceptible to infectious diseases and serious complications, such as neonatal umbilical tetanus, which has a morbidity and mortality rate of up to 80%, causing 500,000 deaths each year in the late 20th century. Meanwhile, there are vaccines for these diseases, with a protection rate of up to 95%.

Deaths from whooping cough fell from 1.3 million per year to 63,000 in 2013. Measles, considered a “child killer,” fell from 2.6 million per year to 128,000 in 2021.

According to information from the Department of Preventive Medicine in 2017, about 85-95% of children who are fully vaccinated will develop specific immunity to protect the body from disease and avoid serious complications of the disease.

Facilitate comprehensive development

Dr. Phong said that some diseases leave permanent sequelae in children such as meningococcal meningitis, Japanese encephalitis, polio... If they do not get sick, children will grow up healthy, avoiding complications of the disease that affect the nervous system, movement and reproductive function. From there, children can study, do physical activities normally, and have a brighter future.

Vaccinating children also helps create a strong immune shield for the community. As more children are protected by vaccines, the possibility of disease transmission will decrease in both children and adults.

"Full vaccination also helps children stay healthy, limits the abuse of antibiotics that causes drug resistance, and prolongs the treatment time of many diseases," said Dr. Phong.

Financial savings

According to Dr. Phong, infectious diseases that have vaccines are all classified in group B, meaning they are highly contagious and can cause death. In fact, when children are not vaccinated and get sick, it will cost a lot of money, such as hospital fees, days of work parents or relatives spend taking care of their children... According to estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control in 2011-2012, the number of hours of work lost due to medical care for children with the flu was up to 73 hours (equivalent to more than 9 working days).

In many cases of serious or dangerous illnesses, such as encephalitis, the hospital bills can be so high that families have to borrow money to treat their children. The illness can also leave behind sequelae that make children dependent on caregivers.

According to UNICEF, investing in vaccines is considered a profitable investment. $1 spent on vaccinations generates $26 in return. So instead of spending a lot of money on treating and caring for sick children, parents can focus on investing in their children's future and working to make their families financially better off.

Vaccines help reduce disease rates and help children develop comprehensively. Source: Parents Together — Vaccines help reduce disease rates and help children develop comprehensively. Source: *Parents Together*

Vaccination schedule in the first year of life

Dr. Phong said that parents can know the vaccination schedule for their children according to milestones such as newborn, 6 weeks old, 3 months old, 4 months old, 6 months old, 9 months old, 12 months old or go to the vaccination center for doctor's advice.

In the first 24 hours after birth, the baby needs to be vaccinated against tuberculosis and hepatitis B. After that, the baby is vaccinated with the following vaccines: rotavirus; 6 in 1 to prevent whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, pneumonia and meningitis caused by Hib, polio, hepatitis B; pneumococcus. If the 5 in 1 vaccine is given, the baby needs to be supplemented with polio or hepatitis B vaccine depending on the type of vaccine.

From 6 months of age, children can be vaccinated against influenza (2 injections 1 month apart) and meningococcal meningitis vaccine. From 9 months of age, children should be vaccinated against chickenpox, measles, mumps, and rubella. From 12 months of age, families should vaccinate their children with a vaccine containing hepatitis A.

Dr. Phong recommends that in addition to vaccinating children, parents and caregivers also need to vaccinate to avoid the risk of disease and transmission to children who do not have full immunity. In addition, families need to take other disease prevention measures such as regular hand hygiene; wearing masks when going to the hospital; limiting taking children to crowded places, especially children under one year old; proper nutrition and exercise to increase immunity...

Nhat Linh

On October 28, VNVC Vaccination Center organized the 13th Pregnancy and Obstetrics Health Consultation Program at VNVC Thu Duc 2 (HCMC), to update new knowledge about vaccines for newborns. The program had two lectures: "Important vaccines for newborns" presented by Dr. Bui Thanh Phong, Medical Manager of HCMC, VNVC Vaccination System and "Nutrition for smart children from the womb" presented by MSc. Dr. Tran Thi Hong Loan, Nutritionist, Nutrihome Nutrition Clinic System.

The program is free of charge and is available in both in-person and online formats. Interested readers can register here.

Source link