Why Is It Important To Get Vaccinated

How Do Vaccinations Work

All immunisations work in the same way. The vaccination uses your bodys immune system to increase protection to an infection before you come into contact with that infection. In other words, it is like being infected with the disease without suffering the actual symptoms.

If you come into contact with an infection after youve been vaccinated, your body works to stop you from getting the disease, or you may get just a mild case. Unlike other proposed approaches to immunisation , vaccinations have been rigorously tested to demonstrate their safety and effectiveness in protecting against infectious disease.

Infants Tolerate Vaccines Well

In the womb, our immune system is already prepared to tackle various microbes that we encounter after birth. Since vaccines only use a small part of a child’s immune capacity, the immune system is burdened much less than with common infections, such as a cold. Infants therefore tolerate vaccination well, including receiving several vaccinations at the same time.

Prevents The Spread Of The Virus

The virus of COVID-19 spreads swiftly from individual to individual across the nation. So, if someone falls ill, he or she could transmit the virus to family, friends, and other people. As we know that coronavirus affects everyone differently, therefore, even if someone has a mild or asymptomatic infection of COVID-19, it can be transferred to others who can develop mild to serious symptoms. Hence, it is highly recommended that everyone should get vaccinated to avoid the spread of the coronavirus and guarantee the safety of people in your family or around you.

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Can Everyone Give Informed Consent

Not everyone can give informed consent. Weighing the risks, benefits, and side effects of a medical intervention requires maturity, decision-making capacity, and the ability to consider short and long-term consequences. It is important to consider a persons capacity to make these types of complex decisions regarding their health.

Informed consent cannot be provided by the following:

You May Be At Risk For Serious Disease

Every year thousands of adults in the U.S. become seriously ill and are hospitalized because of diseases that vaccines can help prevent. Many adults even die from these diseases. By getting vaccinated, you can help protect yourself from much of this unnecessary suffering.

Even if you received the vaccines you needed as a child, the protection from some vaccines can wear off. You may also be at risk for other diseases due to your job, lifestyle, travel, or health conditions. Find out what vaccines you may need based on different risk factors.

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Final Tips On Immunizations

Keep this information in mind to help your childs immunizations go more smoothly:

• Common side effects of immunizations include swelling at the site of the injection, soreness, and fever. Discuss these side effects with your doctor and ask what symptoms deserve an office call.

• Ask your doctor’s office if it participates in an immunization registry. This is a source you can go to if your immunization records get lost.

• Ask your doctor’s office if it has an immunization reminder or recall system. This type of system will call to remind you when immunizations are due and will warn you if an immunization has been missed.

• Always bring your immunizations record with you to all of your child’s office visits and make sure the doctor signs and dates every immunization.

Vaccines are some of the safest and most effective medicines we have, and they have made many dangerous childhood diseases rare today.

Why Is The Second Vaccination Of The Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines Important

Both the PfizerBioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are given twice, the second a few weeks after the first dose. The second dose of PfizerBioNTech will be given 3 weeks after the first dose and the second dose of Moderna will be given 4 weeks after the first dose. The second dose gives people strong, long-term immunity. These two vaccines include a second dose, but the Janssen vaccine requires a single dose.

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How Many Shots Do Children Need

Although vaccines are combined to reduce the number of shots needed, the list is still long.

Here is a common immunization schedule recommended by age 2:

• One vaccination for measles, mumps, and rubella

• Four vaccinations for Haemophilus influenza , a common upper respiratory infection that can also cause meningitis

• Three to four polio vaccinations

• Four vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis

• Three vaccinations for hepatitis B

• One vaccination for varicella no earlier than age 12 months and only if your child does not develop chickenpox on his or her own

• Three vaccinations for rotavirus, a type of infection that causes severe diarrhea

• Four vaccinations for pneumococcal disease, a common cause of ear infections and pneumonia

From age 4 to 6, your child will need booster shots for DPT, IPV, MMR, and chickenpox. Children should also start receiving a yearly flu shot after age 6 months. A vaccination for hepatitis A is recommended for all children. This is a lot to keep track of and why you need an immunization records form.

How New Vaccines Are Developed

It can take a long time to develop a new vaccine. The development process is rigorous and the vaccine is constantly monitored even after it is being used to make sure it is safe and effective.

A new vaccine goes through many phases of development, including research, discovery, pre-clinical testing, clinical testing and regulatory approval. Once the vaccine is approved, the vaccine is then manufactured and shipped to where its needed.

In certain circumstances, increased resources, concurrent clinical trials and funding can fast-track development, such as in the case of the COVID-19 vaccines.

After vaccines are introduced into immunisation schedules, they are closely monitored through trials and surveillance to see if they are effective and safe. In Australia, there are regional and national surveillance systems actively looking for any adverse events following immunisation. This is necessary, as sometimes unexpected side effects occur after vaccines are registered for use.

Some vaccines, such as the flu vaccination, need to be updated every year to respond to changing infection strains and conditions. For these updates, the process is compressed to ensure the vaccine is available as needed.

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You Cant Afford To Get Sick

You have a busy life and too much responsibility to risk getting sick. Vaccines can help you stay healthy so you dont miss work. If you can avoid getting sick, you will have more time for your family, friends and hobbies.

Getting recommended vaccines can give you some peace of mind. You will have the best possible protection available against a number of serious diseases.

People Of Color Are Especially Vulnerable To Severe Covid

Generations of health inequities have caused Black and Hispanic/Latin Americans and other communities of color to be overrepresented in severe COVID-19 cases and deaths. People of color are vulnerable to COVID-19 risk factors, and are more likely to be working front-line, essential jobs that cannot be performed from home, increasing their chances of being infected. Getting vaccinated can provide protection for you and those you love.

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What Are The Steps For Getting Vaccinated

Once you have booked your vaccine appointment, here are the steps that you need to follow when visiting a centre to get your dose:

Step 1 Appointment details: When you book your appointment, you will receive an SMS with the date, time, and place to get your vaccination. Save this message.

Step 2 Confirm your appointment: Before you go, contact the vaccination centre to confirm your appointment .

Step 3 Correct documents: Make sure that you have the photo ID card that you used to book your appointment, as well as your Aadhaar card. .

Step 4 Check in at the centre: Head to the vaccination centre that you have chosen and show your confirmation SMS and ID card to the Vaccination Officer No 1 .

Step 5 Get your details verified: A second Vaccination Officer will cross verify and authenticate your details and documents on CoWIN.

Step 6 Waiting: You might need to wait for up to an hour before your name is called.

Step 7 Get the vaccine: When your name is called, another Vaccination Officer , a healthcare practitioner, will administer the dose of the vaccine to you.

Step 8 Monitoring time: Once the vaccine is administered, you will be asked to wait in an observation area for 15-30 minutes so that the health worker can see if you have any unusual reaction.

Why Childhood Immunizations Are Important

Childhood vaccines or immunizations can seem overwhelming when you are a new parent. Vaccine schedules recommended by agencies and organizations, such as the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians cover about 14 different diseases.

Vaccinations not only protect your child from deadly diseases, such as polio, tetanus, and diphtheria, but they also keep other children safe by eliminating or greatly decreasing dangerous diseases that used to spread from child to child.

A vaccine is a dead, or weakened version, or part of the germ that causes the disease in question. When children are exposed to a disease in vaccine form, their immune system, which is the body’s germ-fighting machine, is able to build up antibodies that protect them from contracting the disease if and when they are exposed to the actual disease.

Over the years, vaccines have generated some controversy over safety, but no convincing evidence of harm has been found. And although children can have a reaction to any vaccine, the important thing to know is that the benefits of vaccinations far outweigh the possible side effects.

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The Benefits Of Vaccination

According to the WHO, vaccination is a simple, safe and effective way to protect against harmful diseases before coming into contact with them, as it activates the body’s natural defenses to learn to resist specific infections and strengthen the immune system.

In this sense, vaccination against COVID-19 will reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill and dying, since the person will be better protected. Immunity will not be 100%, since a vaccinated person can still catch the disease however, the consequences for the body are expected to be much less.

The main benefits are:

• COVID-19 vaccines can also prevent you from becoming seriously ill even if you contract the virus.
• TAll Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
• It is a safer way to develop immunity.

Accordingly, leading organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States state on their website that the vaccines are safe. They highlight three main points:

• Vaccines were developed based on scientific knowledge used for decades.
• They are not experimental. They went through all the required stages of clinical trials. Extensive testing and monitoring have shown these vaccines to be safe and effective.
• COVID-19 vaccines have undergone, and will continue to undergo, the most intensive safety monitoring in history..

Why Vaccines Are Safe

All vaccines are thoroughly tested to make sure they will not harm you or your child.

It often takes many years for a vaccine to make it through the trials and tests it needs to pass for approval.

Once a vaccine is being used in the UK it’s also monitored for any rare side effects by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency .

Anyone can report a suspected side effect of vaccination to the MHRA through the Yellow Card Scheme.

There are very few people who cannot have vaccines.

Generally, vaccines are only not suitable for:

• people who’ve ad a serious allergic reaction to a previous dose of the vaccine
• people who’ve had a serious allergic reaction to ingredients in the vaccine

People with weakened immune systems may also not be able to have some vaccines.

If you’re not sure if you or your child can be vaccinated, check with a GP, practice nurse, health visitor or pharmacist.

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Who Needs To Be Vaccinated

The answer is simple almost everyone! There are some exceptions usually people with a serious medical condition . But dont ever decide against immunisation without checking with your GP first. Your doctor will advise which vaccinations you need based on your HALO: health condition, age, lifestyle and occupation.

If 95 per cent of us are vaccinated, the spread of disease is reduced, which helps to protect everyone. Vaccination is particularly recommended if you:

• Are a newborn or young child .

As COVID-19 is a new disease, it is important to check the latest information on who can get vaccinated when considering getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Remember, if you are not sure about what immunisations you need, talk to your GP. If you find you are not up-to-date with your vaccinations, your GP will tell you about catch-up and booster shots.

How Does Me Getting Vaccinated Help

The more mutations of COVID-19 that arise, the more likely it is that the existing vaccines will become less effective. Just recently, the Mu mutation has been discovered in other countries and is possibly worse than the Delta variant.

Delta is 50% more contagious than COVID-19 and one person typically spreads it to 3.5 to 4 other people.

This pandemic is a public health issue. When you get vaccinated you are not just doing it for yourself, youre doing it for your family, your peers, and your community. As long as the virus can find a host and someone to replicate in, it will keep going.

At this point, getting vaccinated is a risk assessment like many other things in life. So far, the benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Young people and children are dying now from COVID-19. If you are vaccinated, you likely wont get as sick if you get the disease and you are much less likely to die. Most importantly, youll help stop the spread of this virus so that it can hopefully one day be eradicated.

To get vaccinated:

• Make a vaccine appointment at no cost by contacting the University Student Health Center at 775-784-6598. The Student Health Center continues to offer daily COVID-19 testing by appointment as well.

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Mandatory Covid Vaccines: Why Forcing People To Get A Shot May Backfire

To speed COVID vaccine uptake and bring the pandemic to an end, some commentators are calling on the government to mandate immunization as a condition for participating in society. This may seem like a reasonable policy, but there’s compelling evidence that it could backfire.

Never mind your liberties, there’s a deadly virus on the loose, and that’s justification enough for the government to mandate that you get a COVID shot. In so many words, that’s the case some legal scholars and political commentators are making in support of a coercive vaccine policy. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, summed up this argument in a recent opinion piece for the Sacramento Bee:

It is time to focus on the duty we all have to protect each other and to end this pandemic. The government should require vaccinations as soon as vaccine supplies allow, and we should remind everyone that freedom does not include a right to endanger others.

Chemerinsky is both well-meaning and on solid legal footing. Getting a COVID vaccine is the best thing we can do to protect ourselves and others from infection. And the US Supreme Court has ruled that governments can mandate vaccination if doing so is deemed necessary to protect public health.

The importance of trust

Contradictions and double standards

Backfire

A better way

Simple And Effective Protection

We often develop lifelong immunity when we have had a disease. However, some diseases may lead to serious complications and sometimes death. The aim of vaccination is to obtain this immunity without any of the risks of having the disease.

When we vaccinate, we activate the immune system’s “memory.” During vaccination, a weakened microbe, a fragment, or something that resembles it, is added to the body. The immune system is then activated without us becoming sick. Some dangerous infectious diseases can be prevented in a simple and effective way. For some diseases, vaccination provides lifelong protection, while for others the effect is diminished after a few years and booster doses are required.

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Measles And Mumps In England

Measles and mumps are starting to appear again in England, even though the MMR vaccine is safe and protects against both diseases.

Measles and mumps cases have nearly doubled in recent years:

Measles and mumps cases in England

This is serious as measles can lead to life-threatening complications like meningitis, and mumps can cause hearing loss.

Important

If 95% of children receive the MMR vaccine, it’s possible to get rid of measles.

However, measles, mumps and rubella can quickly spread again if fewer than 90% of people are vaccinated.

How Were Rolling Out The Vaccine

Everyone aged 12 years and over can book an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Appointments for 5 to 11-year-olds will start from 10 January 2022. If you cant find an appointment that suits you, please check back regularly as more appointments will become available. Not all vaccine providers will administer Pfizer to children aged 5 to 11 years.

Find out more about booster doses for people aged 18 years and older and third doses for people with severe immunocompromise.

Vaccines are available at:

• state and territory operated clinics
• general practices
• community pharmacies
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services
• other arrangements, such as doctors visiting an aged care or disability residential service, government-operated pop up clinics, or teams organised by disability service providers
• some workplaces.

COVID-19 will be with us for many years into the future.

Getting vaccinated now has many benefits, including:

• protecting yourself against severe illness and death from COVID-19
• preventing complications such as long COVID
• protecting people who cant be vaccinated due to medical conditions
• slowing the spread of the virus
• keeping hospitalisation rates at a level our health system can cope with
• reducing the need for lockdowns and school closures in the future
• being able to attend events and travel in the future.

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