Vaccines are an essential part of keeping your child protected from serious and preventable diseases. These are diseases where it is difficult to predict who will get sick and who will get worse. This is why it is important to protect all children who are able to get vaccines.
Vaccines are safe and you should feel confident protecting your child from preventable diseases.
We understand how heavy this issue can weigh on the hearts of parents.
Dr. Moemeka, your trusted Coppell pediatrician, has the facts about vaccinations that are needed to give your child the healthiest start to life.
What are vaccines?
They’re also called shots, immunizations, and inoculations, but it’s all the same thing. Vaccines are essentially a controlled exposure to weakened or killed germs so that your child builds an immunity to the disease before she is ever exposed to the disease. Immunizations do not make your child sick. Instead, her immune system develops defenses to the diseases that we are protecting against. By controlling exposure with vaccines, your child’s body builds an immunity to the diseases without actually contracting them, potentially saving her life and stopping the spread of disease.
Why does my child need vaccines?
Building your child’s immunity is an important part of keeping your family and your community healthy. Babies need vaccines so that they can build up an immunity to certain diseases before they have a chance to be exposed to them. Even babies who aren’t in childcare need this preventative measure. Children also get vaccines to protect others in the community and their family who are not able to get these vaccines but who can get very sick from the diseases, like grandparents and people with weakened immune systems.
Vaccine-preventable diseases like influenza and chickenpox are unpredictable, so it is not possible to say who will avoid serious and life-threatening effects of these diseases. Public health data continues to show that healthy children and teens can have serious complications following exposure to these diseases. This is why vaccines that protect against these unpredictable diseases are recommended for healthy children.
Which vaccines does my baby need?
Your child will need vaccines throughout childhood, and into adulthood. Dr. Moemeka will discuss these vaccines with you before your child gets them. Among others, your child will need vaccines to prevent against hepatitis A, influenza, chickenpox, polio, rotavirus, measles, and pertussis or whooping cough. For a complete list of vaccines and the CDC recommended schedule, click here.
Aren’t the diseases we’re vaccinating against mostly gone?
Yes, thanks to vaccines most are essentially gone! When we immunize people against diseases, those diseases eventually are wiped out of the community. When we don’t vaccinate, the diseases can slowly but powerfully come back as we have seen with measles. Getting vaccinated helps protect your child and your community.
Why does my baby need so many vaccines?
The timing and frequency of vaccines is based on many factors, including your child’s growing immune system, the potential of your baby being exposed to illnesses, and the way the vaccines work in the human body. Combining vaccines minimizes the number of shots your baby gets at each visit. The type of vaccines that can be combined is studied extensively before being recommended for pediatric patients.
Do I have to vaccinate my child?
This is an important topic. Throughout your child’s life, I partner with you to help your child reach his best health. This does not stop when it comes to vaccines. While some parents choose not to vaccinate their kids, it is highly recommended that all children who are able to get vaccinations receive the recommended childhood vaccines to avoid vaccine-preventable diseases. Mark9 Pediatrics offers modified vaccine schedules when there is a medical reason for your child to avoid or delay certain vaccinations. We respect the decision of parents and if parents request, we will refer you to a practice that allows for non-medical reasons for vaccine refusal or delay.
Call Dr. Moemeka today at (972) 325-2005 or request your appointment online to talk more about vaccinations.
“Whoever receives a child in my name receives me”
– Mark 9:37