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Health Department Reminds Residents on the Importance of
Vaccination
Vaccines are among the
most successful and cost-effective public health tools
available for preventing disease and death. Health officials
remind parents to protect their children’s health by
immunizing them against vaccine preventable childhood
diseases. Additionally, vaccinations are the most effective
way to prevent serious illness in children and adults.
Some life threatening
disease include measles, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, and
polio. Thanks to the development of safe and effective
vaccines, immunization has been one of the most successful
and safest public health measures available to populations
worldwide, with an unparalleled record of disease reduction
and prevention.
Despite the success and
strong safety record of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy has been
increasing. This threatens local public health by producing
an environment where vaccine-preventable diseases such as
measles, mumps and pertussis (whooping cough) are on the
rise. “When fewer people get vaccinated, preventable
diseases such as measles are more likely to take hold in our
communities,” said Eric Zgodzinski, Health Commissioner.
“Immunization is a shared responsibility, we can help
protect our babies and the entire community by preventing
and reducing the spread of infectious diseases.”
Diseases such as measles
are caused by a virus and highly contagious, spreading
through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Measles starts with fever. Soon after, it causes a cough,
runny nose, and red eyes. Then a rash of tiny, red spots
breaks out. It starts at the head and spreads to the rest of
the body.
Before the introduction of
the measles vaccine in 1963, most children did contract the
illness - an estimated three million to four million
patients each year in the United States, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 48,000
were hospitalized, 400 to 500 died and 1,000 others suffered
from a severe complication known as encephalitis, a
condition in which the brain swells because of an infection.
Those who are interested
in having their children vaccinated are encouraged to
contact their healthcare provider or visit the Health
Department’s Shots 4 Tots ‘n Teens vaccine clinic schedule
or call 419.213.4121.
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