Back to school means time to vaccinate
While some states are seeing a rise in parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, officials say Delaware parents are getting shots for their children on schedule.
In Oregon, the health authority reported a rise in shot-limiting parents from 2.5 percent in 2006 to 9.5 percent in 2009. This means a number of children are not vaccinated against preventable and contagious diseases such as polio and whooping cough, also known as pertussis.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends more than two dozen shots from birth to age 6 to protect kids against 14 different diseases. Medical personnel say children who start behind on vaccinations tend to stay behind; they are not protected against these diseases.
In May, Washington State had an outbreak of whooping cough. California had an outbreak in 2010 when 9,000 people came down with whooping cough, leaving 10 dead. In recent years, several states have reported more cases of whooping cough, measles and mumps.
Dr. Vibha Sanwal of Rainbow Pediatrics in Lewes said she and her husband, Dr. Pankaj Sanwal talk to parents about following immunization guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr. Vibha said most parents in her practice follow a standard schedule, but she has a few families who choose not to vaccinate their children. She said if infants are not vaccinated, pediatricians become concerned.
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Why should I have my child immunized if all the other kids in school are immunized? It is true that a single child's chance of catching a disease is low if everyone else is immunized. But your child is also exposed to people other than just those in school. And if one person thinks about skipping vaccines, chances are that others are thinking the same thing. Each child who isn't immunized gives these highly contagious diseases one more chance to spread. This actually happened between 1989 and 1991 when an epidemic of measles broke out in the United States. Lapsing rates of immunization among preschoolers led to a sharp increase in the number of measles cases, deaths, and children with permanent brain damage. Even in the first half of 2008, the number of cases of measles in the United States more than doubled from comparable time periods in recent years. Most of the cases were among people who had not been vaccinated. Similar outbreaks of whooping cough (pertussis) struck Japan and the United Kingdom in the 1970s after immunization rates declined. Although vaccination rates are fairly high in the United States, there's no reliable way of knowing if everyone your child comes into contact with has been vaccinated, particularly now that so many people travel to and from other countries. So, the best way to protect your child is through immunization. Source: Nemours
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Pediatricians start shots early
Children under age 6 get a series of shots to protect against measles, polio, chicken pox and hepatitis among others.
"At the age of 4 it becomes very critical to make sure the child is caught up on vaccinations," Dr. Vibha said. "If he has not had the earlier vaccinations, then he will be behind when it is time for the 4-year-old booster shots."
Dr. Vibha said in most cases she can work with parents to bring their children up to date prior to kindergarten, but in other situations she has recommended parents find another pediatrician.
"Vaccinations are so important to keep the immunity up to date," Vibha said. "Often it is required by the state, but in most cases, some vaccinations are required by schools."
Vibha said parents who do not vaccinate their children risk the immunity of the overall population. This herd immunity is important to keep contagious diseases at bay, she said.
"Without the immunity from the shot, children run the risk of getting the disease," Vibha said. "There is so much information on the internet about the effect of vaccines, but so much of it isn't true. Parents need to seek guidance from pediatricians."
Vibha said pediatric immunizations prevent more than 3 million deaths per year.
"Most people do not remember how devastating these diseases were," Vibha said. "The vaccines have prevented so many deaths, and they are safe."
Middle school works with parents
Gloria Shuba, Bayhealth wellness coordinator for Caesar Rodney School District said most teens she sees know they must have vaccinations to participate in sports and other school activities.
She said most parents are responsive to vaccine recommendations made by Shuba because most of the shots are also required for college.
"There have been scares about vaccines because they haven't been tested that long," Shuba said.
Pre-teens need shots at age 11 or 12 to protect them from tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, meningitis, and HPV (human papillomavirus). Teens need a booster shot at age 16 to protect them from meningitis. Shuba said every child needs three Hepatitis B vaccinations, but most usually have that by their teen years, unless they grew up in another country.
Shuba pulls up each child's shot records through an online database to determine which children are behind in immunizations.
"With each encounter with a student, I keep a record and give them a record," Shuba said. "This gives a record of what they need because many of them will need shots before college. We try to keep on top of it to prevent that rush right before college of them trying to get all the shots they need."
One of the newest shots offered to both boys and girls, starting at the age of 9, is the HPV or Gardisil vaccine.
"For most of the students, we recommend Gardisil, but it has only been around for about six years, so there are concerns about it," she said. "Some parents have heard that getting the shot causes sexual promiscuity, but I ask them 'Does carrying an umbrella cause it to rain?'"
Shuba said the HPV shot is safe. She focuses on education about the vaccine starting in the early teen years.
"The best time to get the vaccine is before kids are sexually active," Shuba said. "We are vaccinating boys and girls with it now. With education, people tend to understand and be more receptive."
DSU helps spread the word
Sen. Tom Carper teamed up with Delaware State University and the Delaware Division of Public Health to highlight the importance of immunizations as students prepare to go back to school this month. The event, held at DSU’s new Wellness Center, a state-of-the-art center that promotes healthy lifestyles among its students, showcased steps parents and students can take to make sure students are ready and healthy to return to school.
“Encouraging students to lead healthy lifestyles is one way parents and educators can instill good lifelong habits,” said Sen. Carper. “By preventing illness, we can also decrease time away from school and work and avoid costly doctor and hospital visits. Staying on top of our immunizations is one way we can all get better healthcare results for less money.”
Marianne Carter, director of the DSU-based Delaware Center for Health Promotion, said, “Being up-to-date with immunizations is an essential requirement for staying healthy. It’s far better to prevent illness than to treat it after the fact.”
“Because a safe and healthy campus is one of our top priorities at Delaware State University, we follow the standard vaccination guidelines to ensure that our students have had or receive the recommended immunizations,” said Dr. Alton Thompson, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at DSU, which has 4,100 students. “Our university health officials work hard to review the immunization history of each student and require them to get any necessary vaccinations they might have missed.”
All adults need a booster shot every 10 years to protect against tetanus and diphtheria. People age 65 or older need a one-time pneumonia shot. Parents and grandparents with small children may want to get a TDAP booster, which helps protect children from getting whooping cough or pertussis from an older caregiver. Talk to a doctor or nurse about which shots are needed.
