From polio to smallpox, vaccines have been responsible for saving countless lives. Typically administered to children, vaccines protect us against diseases by activating our body’s defenses against viruses and bacteria.
It can be difficult for parents to recall by memory the exact vaccinations that have been given to their children. It is important to keep track of all shots your child receives — which shots were given, who gave them and when they were given. Here are a few tips to help you keep track of your child’s shots:
- Make sure your child’s doctor has a complete list of all the shots your child has received.
- It is especially important that if you change doctors, you make sure that the new doctor has a complete and up-to-date list.
- During each visit, ask your child’s doctor if any booster shots are needed, or if any new shots should be given.
- Tell the doctor if your child has allergies or if there are any medicines your child cannot take.
Vaccines protect children against serious diseases. Your child should get all the shots that his or her doctor recommends. Talk to your doctor if you have questions.
Ask your doctor to report the shots your child receives to your state or local immunization registry. This confidential registry can help to keep track of your child’s shots. All records about your child’s immunizations are kept in one place. Here are some of the ways that the registry can be helpful:
- It provides an official record of your child’s immunizations for new doctors, daycare, school or summer camp.
- It can help make sure that immunizations are not duplicated.
You can link to current immunization schedules and create a personalized immunization schedule based on your child’s birth date by visiting the website for the Center for Diseases Control (CDC) at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.
You can access the state childhood vaccination registry at
www.flshots.com.
Immunization Awareness
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States is experiencing a high number of reported measles cases this year. Of the 156 total cases confirmed to date, 87 percent occurred in unvaccinated people who had recently traveled abroad. Other states have witnessed one imported measles case leading to other cases in exposed residents who are unvaccinated.
Last month, measles was diagnosed in a young adult visiting Polk County who had just returned from a trip overseas from a country that was experiencing clusters of measles. Another person traveling abroad on the same trip also contracted measles but fell ill in another Florida county without staying in Polk. Both were hospitalized and have since recovered.
Symptoms of measles generally begin about 7-14 days after a person is infected, and include (in order of appearance):
- Fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red, watery eyes
- Feeling run down, achy
- Tiny white spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth
- Blotchy rash beginning several days after the onset of fever
It is important to note that complications of measles can include pneumonia, diarrhea, eye ulcers causing blindness and rare brain swelling.
In addition to measles, whooping cough (pertussis) is again present in Polk County. In fact, the 22 confirmed cases thus far this year are greater than the 13 total cases for 2010.
Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease spread easily from person to person through the air. Young children, particularly those who have not been vaccinated, are the most vulnerable. Parents and caregivers should be aware that they can transmit this disease to their children unknowingly, as whooping cough is less serious in adults and may not cause them concern. Any adult who has close contact with children should be vaccinated.
For more information on measles, pertussis, and other vaccine-preventable illnesses, please contact the Polk County Health Department or your Watson Clinic primary care physician. Links to valuable information can be found at www.mypolkchd.org, www.cdc.gov, and http://www.immunizepolk.org.
Your Watson Clinic pediatrician or primary care provider can inform you about the vaccinations you should receive to ensure good preventive health.
Source: Polk County Health Department