Public Health: Immunizations
The public health topic of immunizations has always concerned me. Immunizations are important and have saved millions of infant lives since becoming a priority in the U.S. In the military it is mandatory for the service member and his family to be current on all immunizations. I still have my shot record from birth. I remember growing up, I earned money as a babysitter for years. One family had a baby and they wanted me to watch him for them. They did inform me that the baby was not vaccinated and my mom said it would not be a good idea for me to watch him for both of our safety. This year and previous years I have had multiple students whose parents choose not to immunize them. The military issues a pardon for religious beliefs. I am always leery of these children because it never fails- they are always sick. Nasty thick green stuff coming out of their noses and hollow sunken eyes. It worries me. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. Maybe I am over reacting but I feel that if you are going to come to school, you should be immunized, as we all know that a classroom can be a cess pool of germs.
Other countries do not have the priviledge that we have to get vaccines to protect ourselves and our families. However, according to the World Health Organzation (WHO) , China has adopted their Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) which includes vaccines for six major diseases. Ninety perent of children receive EPI vaccines. China has expanded the EPI to include six more diseases. The Chinese government passed a law in 2005 for all vaccines to be given for free, but the challenge has been in making sure that township and village doctors get properly paid for administering the vaccines.
Knowing the importance of immunizations has made me a little paranoid as far as my classrom is concerned. I will change my practice in the future to include a plan to be intentional about keeping a clean and disinfected classroom. I will use this information in furthering my research on this topic of immunzations and the effects it has on not only children, but families, and communties.
Thanks for the information regarding immunization, I also decided to cover immunization, I was always aware of the effects of not being immunized. Thankfully I was immunized at a young age, but now working in a Japanese kindergarten I come across too many vulnerable sick children which makes me want to know more about the immunization or clearly lack of immunization for these children.
ReplyDeleteI can defintly relate to your concern. I used to work at a school that worked with severe special needs children. One of the moms said that her child was normal until immunizied. Although rare I have noticed a lot of negetive publicity surrounding the topic. I personally choose to immunize my children but I did not have them get some of the optional ones when they got older. Reading your post makes me want to pick up some clorox wipes.
ReplyDeleteI have never personally had an experience with a family who did not get immunized but I definitely understand your concerns. Vaccinations are made for a reason and that is to protect us from those things/germs that can be very harmful to everyone that is exposed to them. I know that in most places vaccinations can be optional if it is a religious reason but parents need to know the consequences if something may happen.
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