Measles

• In 2014, there were 114,900 measles deaths globally - almost 314 deaths per day, or 13 deaths per hour.
• In 2014, the incidence of measles in the Russian Federation was 2 times higher than in 2013. 4690 cases were registered in 71 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (indicators per 100 thousand population in 2014 -3.28, in 2013 - 1.62).
• In the Russian Federation in 2013, a serious outbreak of measles was registered in the Kursk region, where the infection was brought by a student of a Moscow university who arrived home at the end of December for the holidays. All of the cases have not been vaccinated and are members of the local religious community who refuse to be vaccinated. As of the end of January 2013, a clinical diagnosis of measles had already been made in 147 residents, of whom only 10 were adults. Another major focus of measles is the Astrakhan region, where in the autumn of 2012 a worsening of the epidemiological situation for this disease was registered, and since the beginning of the year this diagnosis has been made in 84 patients. Almost all of the sick are unvaccinated children.
• During the summer of 2013, 1226 cases of measles were detected in the Netherlands, with 82 requiring hospitalization. In 14% of cases, measles was complicated by other diseases, including encephalitis and pneumonia. The outbreak originated in one of the Protestant schools among those who refused vaccination, and then spread throughout the country.

pneumococcal infection

• In 2005, WHO estimated that 1.6 million people die every year from pneumococcal disease; this figure also includes 0.7-1 million deaths among children under the age of 5, most of whom lived in developing countries.
• in Russia in 2014. More than 0.5 million cases of pneumonia have been reported, most of which are caused by pneumococcal disease.
• Due to the rapid development of diseases caused by pneumococci (2-3 days), there is usually no time for a special determination of sensitivity to antibiotics, and patients with severe infections often die despite the introduction of standard antibacterial drugs, since irrational antibiotic therapy leads to terrifying growth of antibiotic-resistant strains of pneumococcus.

Polio

• In the 1950s, two American scientists managed to create a vaccine against polio. Thanks to vaccination, a dangerous disease was defeated. However, in some regions of the world, so-called "wild" polio viruses still circulate in nature, and unvaccinated people can get sick.
• In connection with the failure of vaccination work on the territory of the Chechen Republic, endemic for this infection, in 1995 144 people fell ill with poliomyelitis there, of which 6 died. The situation was stabilized thanks to mass preventive vaccinations against poliomyelitis for all children under 7 years of age.
• Failure to eradicate polio from the remaining persistent outbreaks could result in up to 200,000 new cases of the disease each year in the world in 10 years.
• In 2010, an outbreak of poliomyelitis was registered in Tajikistan. 171 children remained paralyzed.
• In the Russian Federation, the aggravation of the epidemiological situation with polio occurred in 2010, when an imported case of poliomyelitis was registered in the territory of the Moscow region in a visitor from Uzbekistan, and in Angarsk cases were noted in two young children who arrived from Tajikistan. Also, 14 carriers of the wild strain of the polio virus were identified among migrants from Tajikistan. Fortunately, this outbreak did not spread further due to the high vaccination coverage of our children.

Whooping cough

• In the period from 1959-1970. in the USSR, as a result of the widespread use of vaccines, the incidence of whooping cough decreased by 17.7 times compared with the pre-vaccination period. Significantly reduced the number of severe and complicated forms of whooping cough, decreased mortality rates.
• After the mass refusal of DTP vaccination in Germany from 1979 to 1982, 80 thousand cases of pertussis occurred, and 1520 patients had serious complications from the lungs, 61 from the nervous system with 15 deaths. This damage over 4 years far exceeded all conceivable losses associated with vaccination over all the decades of its mass implementation.
• Over the past 2 years, the incidence of whooping cough in the Russian Federation has been at the level of about 4.5 thousand cases per year. More than 90% of cases are children under 14 years of age (according to Rospotrebnadzor).
• In the mid 1970s. in the United Kingdom, there has been a decrease in consent rates for pertussis vaccine. The decline in vaccination coverage from 81% to 31% caused outbreaks of whooping cough. From 1977 to 1979 there was an epidemic. In England and Wales, more than 200,000 fall ill and at least 100 children a year die. Consent to pertussis vaccination is now approximately 93% reported, and the incidence has dropped significantly.
• During the whooping cough outbreak in California (January to November 2014), there were 9,935 cases of whooping cough (26.0 cases per 100,000 population). The highest incidence rate was recorded among children under one year of age and children aged 14-16 years. Severe fatal cases have been reported in young children not immunized against whooping cough. Recommended immunization of pregnant women - AaDTP vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy.
• An attempt to cancel pertussis vaccination with the DPT vaccine was carried out in Japan in the mid-70s. Against the backdrop of a favorable epidemiological situation (250 cases of whooping cough in the country per year, one death), due to aggressive accusations of high reactogenicity by opponents of preventive vaccinations, vaccination was stopped for 3 years. This led to a sharp increase in the incidence of whooping cough (13,000 cases of whooping cough, 41 deaths). The return of vaccination against whooping cough (albeit with a different, new, safer vaccine) to the calendar of preventive vaccinations has led to a gradual decrease in the incidence and almost to the elimination of this infection.

Tetanus

• Mortality in tetanus is very high (only rabies and pneumonic plague are higher). With the use of modern methods of treatment, 17-25% of patients die, and it is currently not possible to reduce these numbers due to the development of complications (such as pneumonia, sepsis, and heart paralysis caused by bacterial toxin). In regions where there are no preventive vaccinations and qualified medical care, mortality is about 80%. Mortality in newborns reaches 95%. The world recorded about 61,000 deaths in 2010. However, given the possibility of a large number of unreported cases and unexpressed forms of the disease (especially in newborns), the total losses from tetanus on the planet can be estimated at 350-400 thousand people annually.
• In the world, 80% of tetanus cases occur in newborns (when infected through the umbilical cord), as well as in boys under 15 years of age due to their increased traumatism. Among adults, about 60% of cases of tetanus occur in the elderly. The highest percentage of sick and dead is observed in rural areas.
• Tetanus bacillus spores are resistant to external influences; they are able to survive in nature for years and even decades under the most unfavorable conditions; within 2 hours withstand heating up to +90 C, and die when boiled after 30-50 minutes.

Diphtheria

• Unfounded criticism of vaccination in the press has the most undesirable consequences. Under the influence of the media, which fought against the use of vaccination, the number of children who received the diphtheria vaccine decreased. This led to the fact that against the background of a sharp decline in collective immunity, the incidence of diphtheria increased by 20 times compared to the 1980s.
• When diphtheria vaccines were not purchased by the state in the CIS in the mid-1990s, this ended in an unprecedented epidemic with an incidence of 25 per 100,000 in 1994-95, during which 120,000 people fell ill and more than 6,000 died in the CIS. to protect the population from diphtheria, mass immunization against diphtheria was organized and carried out. Widespread immunization contributed to a sharp decrease in the incidence to isolated cases (4 cases of diphtheria in the Russian Federation in 2015).
• In the CIS in 1990-1999. the decrease in vaccination coverage to 30-40% and the penetration of strains of diphtheria corynebacteria (gravis) from the Afghan-Pakistan focus caused 140 thousand cases and 5 thousand deaths.
• The turning point in the fight against diphtheria occurred at the beginning of the 60s and is associated with the introduction of mass vaccination.

Flu

• Die from complications caused by influenza, according to WHO, from 250 to 500 thousand people annually. At the same time, the main mortality occurs in the elderly (most of whom have certain chronic diseases), as well as in people of any age with chronic diseases.
• The lethality of unvaccinated pregnant women from influenza reaches 50%!
• The risk of hospitalization due to influenza for children under 2 years of age is as high as for patients in traditionally identified risk groups and even exceeds it. Moreover, the risk of hospitalization is higher, the younger the child.
• The true flu is usually more severe than acute respiratory infections (which in everyday life is often mistakenly called the flu), the flu is associated with intoxication of the body, severe headache, gastroenteritis and the frequent development of complications.

Hepatitis B

• Hepatitis B can lead to chronic liver disease and a high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. More than 240 million people have chronic (long-term) liver infections. About 780,000 people die every year from the acute or chronic effects of hepatitis B. According to WHO estimates, about 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with this virus, more than 350 million are sick.
• Despite the fact that Russia is one of the countries with a moderate rate of infection with hepatitis B, the risk of contracting this virus throughout life for each of us is 20-60%.
• The probability of complete recovery from chronic hepatitis B is very low - about 10%. But the state of relative health (remission), in which the virus of the patient practically does not bother, can be achieved in more than 80% of cases. More than 240 million people have chronic (long-term) liver infections, and about 780,000 people die each year from the acute or chronic effects of hepatitis B.
• Widely used tests for hepatitis B in pregnant women are imperfect. An assessment of the situation in 5 regions showed that in a significant number of cases, additional tests revealed the presence of the virus. Thus, a false-negative analysis for this disease can lead to the presence of hepatitis B in 10-15 thousand newborns per year - this explains the need for vaccination of children in maternity hospitals. Since up to 3 months, when routine vaccinations begin, the frolicking virus in the child's body will already lead to irreparable changes in the baby's liver. 95% of newborns born to antigen-positive mothers become infected with the hepatitis B virus at birth.

Tuberculosis

• Globally in 2013, about 550,000 children developed TB, and 80,000 HIV-negative children died from it. Without proper treatment, up to two-thirds of people with TB die. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million people died from the disease.
• With the introduction of mass vaccination in the USSR in the 1960s. morbidity has significantly decreased, mortality has fallen by 3-4 times. The vaccine does not protect against infection with the disease, but saves from severe manifestations of the disease. If the vaccinated person falls ill, the disease proceeds much easier and the residual changes in the affected organ after treatment are less pronounced.
• Russia remains a region with high rates of tuberculosis incidence - about 80,000 new cases are registered annually.

Rubella

• Rubella causes serious problems in pregnant women - in most cases, the disease causes fetal death or congenital malformations, known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). An estimated 110,000 children are born with CRS worldwide each year.
• Man is the only known carrier of the rubella virus, so vaccination offers the possibility of reducing the prevalence of the disease in the world.

papillomavirus infection (HPV)

• The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of viruses that is extremely widespread throughout the world. There are over 190 HPV types, of which at least 13 lead to cancer (also known as high-risk viruses). Two types of HPV (16 and 18) cause 70% of all cases of cervical cancer (CC) and precancerous pathological conditions of the cervix.
• Symptoms of cervical cancer usually appear only at an advanced stage of cancer, when treatment is extremely difficult.
• By the end of 2013, the human papillomavirus vaccine had been introduced in 55 WHO countries.

mumps (mumps)

• The disease can cause serious complications, especially if it is severe. In 20-30% of sick adolescent boys and adult men, the testicles become inflamed (orchitis), in girls and women, in 5% of cases, the mumps virus affects the ovaries (oophoritis). Both of these complications in 50% of cases are the cause of infertility in both men and women.

Hemophilus infection

• The source of hemophilic infection is only a person. Healthy carriage can last from several days to several months. The carriage persists even with a high titer of specific antibodies and even with the appointment of high doses of antibiotics. Most often, children aged 6 months to 4 years get sick. Less common are newborns, older children, and adults.

Ask a question to a specialist

A question for vaccine experts

Questions and answers

Child 1 year 10 months. At 6 months I was vaccinated with Infanrix-Gex, two weeks ago I was vaccinated with measles-rubella-mumps. The child began to go to kindergarten, and now I found out that there are children in the group who some time ago received a live polio vaccine.

Does being with these children pose a risk to my child?

When and what kind of polio vaccine can we get now? I have a choice: to put a complex DTP Infanrix or only polio, can I get vaccinated against polio two weeks after Priorix?

To protect against any form of polio, a child must have at least 3 vaccinations. When other children are vaccinated with live oral polio vaccine, unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children are dropped out of kindergarten for 60 days to prevent the development of vaccine-associated polio.

No, after 2 weeks you cannot start vaccinations, the interval between vaccinations is at least 1 month. You need to get at least 2 polio vaccinations before your child is protected from this infection. That is, if a child is vaccinated twice, then only 1 month after the last vaccination, sufficient immunity will be developed. It is better to be vaccinated 2 times with an interval of 1.5 months DTP + IPV (Pentaxim, InfanrixGexa), after 6-9 months revaccination is done. DTP + IPV / OPV (Pentaxim). You lost your hepatitis B vaccine, but if you get InfanrixGexa twice 1.5 months apart, you can get your third hepatitis B vaccine 6 months after the first. I recommend doing a full vaccination course, since the child attends a kindergarten (an organized team) and has practically no protection against dangerous and severe infections.

I have a question of a somewhat general nature, but I turn to you, since I have not yet been able to get a clear answer to it. Who, in your opinion, can benefit from a campaign to discredit vaccination, and especially for children? I'm not asking, of course, to name specific culprits, it's more interesting for me to understand which parties may be interested in this? Or is it a spontaneous process, akin to ignorance that does not need nourishment?

Doctors I know suggest that information stuffing about the dangers of vaccinations can (in theory) be ordered by drug manufacturers, since it is all the more profitable for a person to go to a pharmacy for a drug advertised on TV, and not get vaccinated by a doctor. But this would be true for a vaccine (for example) against influenza (there is enough advertising for anti-flu drugs on TV). But what about the BCG vaccine, the hepatitis vaccine? Such drugs are not advertised on TV. With the same logic, one could assume that the “interested party” is the manufacturers of vegetarian products and vitamins, which offer to stuff children with them almost from the first days of life, but this theory also seems to me controversial. And what do you think about this?

This is a question that, unfortunately, does not have an exact answer, one can only speculate. It is quite difficult to understand the motivation of people who oppose vaccination, a method that has proven its safety and effectiveness for the prevention of infectious and, to date, some non-communicable diseases.

There are societies, funds of "anti-vaxxers" that earn ratings on this, incl. using Internet technologies (for example, traffic, site views, forum posts), and possibly money. Perhaps this is lobbying of interests on the part of homeopaths, tk. Most homeopaths speak negatively about vaccination, recommending that the epidemiologically sound method - vaccination, be replaced with an unproven one - homeopathy.

My daughter is 13 and has never had chickenpox. We want to get vaccinated, are we doing the right thing?

Harit Susanna Mikhailovna answers

Yes, the older the child, the more likely, unfortunately, a severe course of chickenpox. And since this is a girl, you need to think about the fact that if you get chickenpox during pregnancy, this leads to severe fetal pathology.

Is it possible for an adult to be vaccinated against rotavirus if I get sick with it every year, there is no gallbladder, thank you!

Harit Susanna Mikhailovna answers

No, there is no point in vaccinating adults. Adults do not get very sick, and the purpose of the rotavirus vaccine is to prevent severe forms of the disease with dehydration in infants. Then, throughout life, diseases are still possible, but in a mild form. It may be worth talking to a gastroenterologist about preventive measures, such as treatment with biologics.

We have a medical facility up to 3 years. Born premature, raised. ICP, VPK, KLA, dmzhp, dmpp. In the maternity hospital, they got hepatitis B and after BCG and mantoux at 1 year old and that's it. After all the terrible diseases we have seen, we are afraid to receive vaccinations. When we were about to get measles vaccinations at that moment so many children became disabled (there are children of distant relatives of age starting at the age of one and high school students). With our sores, can we be vaccinated? What tests to take before vaccination?

Answered by Polibin Roman Vladimirovich

For a child, especially in the presence of these conditions, it is not vaccinations that are dangerous, but infections. For vaccination, it is mandatory to see a doctor before vaccination, a clinical blood test, if necessary, a general urine test and an examination by a specialist doctor who has a child with existing diseases.

What does this vaccine do? How to solve the problem with tetanus infection.

Harit Susanna Mikhailovna answers

The tetanus vaccine protects against the development of the disease. Infection with tetanus occurs when spores of bacteria in soil-contaminated objects enter damaged tissues. It is impossible to exterminate tetanus bacillus spores, so the problem with the disease is solved by routine vaccination.

Please tell me how best and more reasonably to answer the opinion of a medical student and any health worker in general: "I do not get a flu shot, because it is not known what virus will be in this epidemic season, and the flu vaccine is being developed in the summer, when they still do not know the current strains of a future epidemic." In other words, what is the probability in % that the flu vaccine given in the fall will “override” the current strains of the virus in the upcoming epidemiological season in the winter, given that one or more new strains may appear. I would also be grateful if you drop links to the primary sources of such data so that my words are more convincing.

Answered by Polibin Roman Vladimirovich

The main arguments for the need to prevent influenza are data on the high contagiousness, severity, and variety of complications of this infection. Influenza is extremely not only for risk groups, but also for healthy middle-aged people. Such a frequent complication as pneumonia occurs with the development of RDS and mortality, reaching 40%. As a result of the flu, Goodpasture's syndrome, Guillain-Barre syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, Reye's syndrome, myositis, neurological complications, etc. can develop. Moreover, there are no vaccinated people among the dead and people with severe complications!

Vaccination according to WHO is the most effective measure to prevent influenza. Almost all modern anti-influenza vaccines contain three types of the virus - H1N1, H3N2 and B. In recent years, several quadrivalent vaccines have been registered abroad, and such a drug has been created in Russia. Varieties of the virus change every year. And there is a network of dedicated WHO National Influenza Centers that monitor circulating viruses, collect samples, perform virus isolation and antigenic characterization. Virus circulation information and newly isolated strains are sent to WHO Collaborating Centers and Essential Regulatory Laboratories for antigenic and genetic analysis, which results in recommendations for the composition of a vaccine to prevent influenza in the southern and northern hemispheres. This is the Global Influenza Surveillance system. Thus, the composition of the vaccine for the coming season is not “guessed”, but is predicted on the basis of antigens already isolated when the virus began to circulate and the incidence in one of the parts of the world. The forecast is highly accurate. Errors are rare and are associated with the spread of a new type of virus from animals. The presence of protection against strains of influenza viruses that are not part of the vaccine is categorically not refuted. Thus, persons vaccinated with a seasonal vaccine in the epidemic season of 2009/2010. had a mild course of influenza caused by a pandemic strain that was not included in the vaccine and among the dead were not people vaccinated against influenza.

Information about the Global Influenza Surveillance system can be found on the official website of the WHO or the website of the WHO European Region.

If you are convinced that anyone who speaks out in favor of vaccines is a person who has clearly sold out to vaccine manufacturers - you do not need to read this at all.
If you are an ardent opponent of vaccination, if you have already decided everything for yourself and for your child, you do not need to read this at all.
This article is intended for parents who understand that vaccinations are a real and highly effective way to prevent infectious diseases, but a way that involves certain risks. That is why prudent and sensible mothers and fathers should know and try to practically implement a certain algorithm of actions that can significantly reduce the risk. We will talk about these actions (real and practical).

So, in the whole complex of problems associated with vaccination, there are three areas that should be considered separately:

• 1) Vaccine preparation.
• 2) Child.
• 3) Vaccination conditions - that is, the parameters under which the paths of the child and the vaccine intersect.

Let us immediately note that the ability of parents to influence the three indicated areas is far from being equivalent. They are minimal in relation to a vaccine, maximal in relation to a child, and very significant when it comes to the conditions of vaccination.

Vaccine preparation

The main thing is that not a single obviously bad and low-quality drug has been registered either on the territory of Russia or on the territory of Ukraine. They (drugs) can vary greatly in price, moderately differ in efficacy, tolerability, the likelihood of reactions and complications.
Since of all the vaccines currently available, reactions to the pertussis vaccine are the most common, so it is not surprising that we will turn our attention to this particular vaccine and discuss the possibilities of choice using its example.
Whooping cough vaccine is a standard component of vaccine preparations such as DTP, Tetracoccus, Infanrix. In infanrix, the pertussis component is maximally split, which, nevertheless, does not affect the effectiveness of vaccination, but greatly reduces both the severity and the very likelihood of reactions.
Now about the practical results of vaccination. I immediately warn you: everything I am writing about now is personal experience and personal observations, therefore, in fact, this material is posted on a personal blog. Those who trust, adopt, the rest are considered as information for reflection.
Since 2000, I have not seen a single child with whooping cough who would have been vaccinated with Tetracoke or Infanrix. Patients with whooping cough, who, judging by the entries in the card, were correctly and timely vaccinated with the DTP vaccine, as many as you like. True, there are practically no severe forms of the disease, but there are many patients.
Reactions to vaccination after tetracoccus and DTP are almost the same in frequency and severity, sometimes it even seems that tetracoccus is tolerated worse, at least local tissue reactions are more common.
Infanrix is ​​well tolerated in most cases.
DTP is free, tetracoc and infanrix, as a rule, must be bought. The price bites.
Tetracoccus and Infanrix are single dose packages (one syringe, one vial = one patient). DPT - in an ampoule 2 doses (why, why, for whom ??? - it is not clear at all).
All preparations are sensitive to storage conditions and must be stored and transported exclusively in a refrigerator.
General results:
Infanrix - effective, minimum reactions, expensive.
Tetrakok - effective, reactions are not uncommon, expensive.
DPT - in most cases effective, reactions are not uncommon, free of charge.
Choose!
Theoretically, almost all vaccines can be analyzed in this way.
Well, for example:
OPV (oral polio vaccine, live virus) - no need to give an injection, maximum effectiveness, well tolerated, free, but in one case per million (several million) VAP (vaccine-associated polio) is possible;
IPV (injectable polio vaccine, killed virus) - an injection is needed, the effectiveness is maximum, it is well tolerated, often paid, in any case more expensive than OPV; VAP is not possible.
The country (the state) has a material opportunity to choose - wonderful. The country does not have the opportunity, but you personally have it - choose.
But in fact, the main thing is different, and this is quite obvious.
One and the same vaccine preparation (absolutely the same) received 1 million children. 999,999 endured it well, and 1 fell ill.
The vast majority of children normally or with minor and short-term reactions tolerate the DTP vaccine (absolutely the same for all). But sometimes there are serious complications.
It is clear that since the drug in all cases same, and the health status of the vaccinated different, then in most cases the root cause of complications is the characteristics of the organism, and not the poor quality of the drug.
The likelihood of complications can be reduced by choosing the least reactogenic vaccine, but this choice is far from always possible, if only because Infanrix may not be registered in the country where you are lucky to live, or IPV may not have been brought to your city, or your family does not have financial opportunity to buy tetracoke.
However, I would like to reiterate what we started with: neither in Russia nor in Ukraine is not a single obviously bad and low-quality drug registered. In most cases, parents do not have any ability to influence the quality of vaccines, but this “inability to influence” affects the results of vaccination to a very small extent.
In the same time it is the parents have enormous and real opportunities to influence the health status of the vaccinated child.

Child

First of all, it should be stated that the education system affects the results of inoculation in the most fundamental way.
If you know how to properly care for a child: feed, dress, walk, bathe, temper, help with simple respiratory viral infections - well, if you not only know all this, but also put it into practice, the likelihood that your the child will tolerate vaccinations without problems, maximum.
We will not teach the correct care here, enough has already been written about this.
In practice, quite often the situation is as follows: the child walks little or not at all, lives in a stuffy room, overfeeds, feeds on juices from the age of one month, wraps himself up, he is actively kissed and licked by a bunch of relatives, he is actively treated for a runny nose with a bunch of medicines (his nose sniffs, because it has dried mucus in it because of the heat) ...
The vaccine turns out to be the last straw that overwhelms the immune system, but, of course, the vaccine is to blame.
So - The first and indispensable condition for preparation is a normal lifestyle.
Following. At the time of vaccination, the child must be healthy.
And healthy, first of all, from the point of view of mom! It is clear and obvious that the body temperature should be normal and that there should be no other complaints. But not only that! Behavior, mood, appetite, sleep - everything is as always. The doctor may not know that at night the baby was not clear why he was capricious, or that this morning for some reason he did not finish his favorite kefir. But mom has to respond. Observe, wait, delay. In the end, no one better than a mother can feel the state of a child and say the phrase “something is wrong.”
At the same time, if for three weeks now a child has snot with a normal temperature and excellent appetite, it is so clear that these snot do not exert any load on the immune system and will not interfere with the vaccination. If there are manifestations of allergic dermatitis, then the vaccination can be done only when there are no new rashes for at least 3 weeks. But here (rash, snot, any real symptoms) the doctor has the last word.
You doubt - this is a real reason to do a clinical (general) blood test on the eve of vaccination. If you do this analysis on your own initiative (i.e. at your own expense), pay a little more, but ask to determine the level of platelets and clotting time - an additional safety net.
Very, very important!
The lower the load on the intestines, the easier the vaccine is tolerated.
Therefore, three days - the day before vaccination, on the day of vaccination and the next day - try to limit the volume and concentration of food eaten as much as possible.
Do not offer food until asked.
In any soup, in any porridge, a spoon can float, or it can stand. Make it float and sink very quickly.
When using milk mixtures or ready-made instant cereals for baby food, it is necessary to deliberately reduce the concentration. It is written on the package: put 6 tablespoons of powder into 200 ml of water. Put 5! And if the child is overweight - 4.5!

With natural feeding, there are usually no problems - breast milk in itself is an excellent prevention of post-vaccination reactions, but in a situation where the child is fed on demand, problems may develop. The bottom line: after vaccination, the child may well experience moderate malaise, which is manifested by greater capriciousness. And since the child cries more, then, of course, it is also more near the chest. Accordingly, on the day of vaccination, the child eats more food than on ordinary days, then his stomach hurts, and, as usual, the vaccine is to blame. To make matters worse, advocates of on-demand feeding generally don't give babies any liquid other than milk, so there's no way to reduce the amount of food they eat.
If we are talking about free feeding, then the algorithm of actions is as follows:
- if you can drink, but you can feed, so you should drink;
- if you can feed now, but you can in half an hour, then try very hard so that in half an hour;
- if you can hold it at the chest for 10 minutes, or you can 30 - it’s better than 10 ...
The next safety statement.
Do not vaccinate if the child did not have a stool during the day before the vaccination.
Are you at the clinic today, but you haven't pooped since yesterday? Make a cleansing enema, put a glycerin suppository.

In principle, I draw your attention: the presence of constipation in a child (even with natural feeding) increases the risk of adverse reactions after vaccinations. Therefore, no matter what you read about how completely normal it is to poop while breastfeeding once every 5 days, try to help the child (lactulose syrup), achieve regular bowel movements, and there you can think about vaccinations ...
If for some reason you give your child vitamin D in addition to breast milk or formula, stop taking it 2-3 days before the planned vaccination and resume no earlier than 5 days later. Vitamin D, as you know, regulates calcium metabolism in the body, and calcium metabolism disorders underlie allergic reactions. The slightest overdose of vitamin D increases the likelihood of allergies, so it's best not to experiment. From the same position, it definitely does not hurt to give calcium to the child for 3 days before and after vaccination. Just in no case do not buy anything expensive, ionized, soluble, etc. Ordinary, penny white calcium gluconate - 1 tablet per day, you can at a time. Crush (grind on a coffee grinder) add to milk, feed. The dose does not depend on age - excess calcium is simply not absorbed (not absorbed).
It is impossible to prepare a child for vaccination with any medications. Most of the medicines that supposedly make vaccination easier to tolerate are a way of psychotherapy for relatives and doctors.
In any case, do not give anything on your own initiative. If the doctor insists on the use of antihistamines, do not use drugs such as suprastin and tavegil (they “dry out” the mucous membranes, and if there is a rise in temperature after vaccination, the combination of these two factors can increase the risk of complications from the respiratory tract). In any case, taking antihistamines should be combined with taking calcium supplements.
When going to the clinic for a vaccination, try very, very hard not to overdo it with clothes. It will be highly undesirable if the vaccine is given to a very sweaty baby with a fluid deficiency in the body. If sweaty people did get into the clinic, wait, change clothes, drink well.
Do not feed for at least an hour before and after vaccination. After vaccination, pull with food, as they say, to the last. Drink, entertain, distract. If you manage not to feed for three hours, it will be just wonderful.
So, on the day of vaccination, the child should be healthy, pooped and preferably at least moderately hungry.
The most common reaction to vaccination is fever. You need to be ready for this in advance, so you don’t have to wait for the temperature, and then run around pharmacies.
It is imperative to have ready-made powders in the house, from which solutions for oral rehydration are made (replenishing fluid losses through the mouth) - rehydron, humana electrolyte, gastrolith, glucosolan, etc.
From antipyretic should have:
- paracetamol (panadol, efferalgan, tylenol, etc.) in suppositories;
- ibuprofen (nurofen, burana, etc.) in syrup;
- (nise, nimid, nimegesic, nimesil, etc.) in solution or syrup.
Any temperature above normal after vaccination (for sure - everything above 37.3 ° C in the armpit) is a real reason to use antipyretics.
If the body temperature is below 38 ° C - paracetamol in suppositories or ibuprofen. Before a night's sleep, candles are optimal.
At temperatures above 38 ° C - only inside liquid dosage forms, primarily ibuprofen.
If nurofen and paracetamol do not help, then nimesulide.
Any fever after vaccination, in addition to the use of the aforementioned drugs, requires:
- maintaining the regime of cool moist air: ideal temperature - 18 - maximum 20 ° C, relative humidity - 50-70%;
- maximum restriction of any food;
- drink plenty of fluids, it is ideal to use the above oral rehydration solutions (often, fractionally, solution temperature = body temperature).
Walking (walking in the fresh air). After inoculation at normal body temperature, the more the better.
Bathing. On the day of vaccination, it is better to refrain from swimming. Then in normal mode. If there is an increase in temperature, limit yourself to hygienic wiping (wet wipes).

Terms of vaccination

To begin with, a demonstrative illustration of our capabilities. Remember, we wrote about DPT, tetracoc, infanrix: all drugs are sensitive to storage conditions, they should be stored and transported exclusively in the refrigerator.
If, on the advice of a doctor, you decide to purchase Infanrix at a pharmacy, then purchase (borrow, rent) before that cooler bag and ice packs…
Personally, I am convinced that the DTP vaccine is no less effective than tetracoc or infanrix, but storage conditions are more often violated with respect to this drug.
This is due primarily to its cost (more precisely, free). It is hard to imagine that a person who paid his hard-earned $50 for Infanrix would put an ampoule in his pocket and get on a tram.
None of the parents can be sure that the drug, which the nurse of the vaccination room or the pharmacy worker took out of the refrigerator in front of your eyes, was stored correctly before entering this refrigerator. A doctor came to your house with a cooler bag and removed an ampoule from this bag. You can either trust this doctor or not, but neither you nor this doctor know anything about how the ampoule was stored before it got into the cooler bag.
We state a fact: the storage of vaccines is a weak and one of the least controlled links in the entire chain of problems associated with vaccination.
The radical solution is in the technical plane, and taking into account the possibilities of modern technology, the solution is simple - each ampoule, or at least each package with ampoules, should have an indicator that changes color forever when the ambient temperature exceeds, say, 10 ° C.
It is clear that everything described has nothing to do with the specific actions of specific parents. These are wishes - to the state, the consumer protection society, vaccine manufacturers ...
But, nevertheless, parents can unambiguously control the last stage. The vaccine must be removed from the refrigerator before your eyes, after which one of the adults takes it (an ampoule, vial) in his hand and warms it with the warmth of his body. Cold hands - you can breathe on the ampoule, put it under your arm, etc. But in any case, you must see with your own eyes and feel the cold ampoule with your own hands! If you come and it (the ampoule) is already warm, if an already warm ampoule is brought to your house, you cannot be sure of anything, you do not know how long it has been warm.

It is impossible to vaccinate in unusual, non-standard climatic conditions for this child. If it’s a terrible heat outside, and dad hasn’t earned money for the air conditioner yet, then it’s quite possible to wait.
It is impossible immediately before and immediately after vaccination (2 days before, 3 days after) to look for a child of infection, visiting unnecessarily crowded places and inviting guests.
Do not vaccinate if there is a real risk of getting sick. If dad came home from work yesterday covered in snot, if today his older brother started having diarrhea, it’s wrong to vaccinate a still healthy child, to put it mildly.
Nevertheless, for a child of the first year of life, in the vast majority of cases, the real risk of getting sick is not associated with a snotty dad, but with going to the clinic.
Classical situation: the child is 3 months old. 3 months is the period when the antibodies inherited from the mother cease to exist. 3 months is a visit to the clinic. Bypass of medical specialists. 3-4 turns to the doctor's office. At the same time, the child is in the corridor of the polyclinic, i.e., where the probability of meeting with the patient is clearly higher than the average. And after all the doctors say that the baby is healthy and can be vaccinated, it will be the turn of the last line, to the vaccination room. And the child will receive the DTP vaccine. He will receive it on the very day when he had at least 20 contacts with strangers. And in two days the cough will begin and the temperature will appear. And the vaccine will be to blame.
So let's repeat: it is highly undesirable to vaccinate when there is a real risk of getting sick. And such a day is very often the day of visiting the clinic. I strongly advise you to distinguish between trips to numerous offices and vaccination in time.
Bypassed the experts, all gave the go-ahead. Wonderful. We returned home, remember that the incubation period for most SARS does not exceed 2 days. If after 2 days the child is healthy, you can also get vaccinated.
Nevertheless, one line - directly to the vaccination room - you will not be able to avoid. If it is possible not to sit in the corridor, but to take a turn and take a walk - take a walk. If it is possible to put a dad, a woman, an older brother in line, and do not poke your head into the corridor ahead of time - do not poke your nose. Walk outdoors. The time will come - they will call.
In any case, during your stay in the clinic, try to undress the child in a timely manner (so as not to sweat) and have one of the saline solutions in the form of drops for injection into the nasal passages (salin, aqua maris, normal saline, etc.). Drip the mentioned drops into the child's nose every 15-20 minutes, 2-3 drops in each nostril (a real decrease in the likelihood of SARS).
Immediately after the vaccination, theoretically, you cannot go home, and the doctor will warn you to sit in the corridor for about 30 minutes.
The combination of the risk of vaccination and the risk of infection with SARS is one of the main contradictions of the entire system of organizing vaccinations. It is clear that this contradiction can be resolved only by certain organizational efforts. And it's actually not that hard at all.
It would seem, well, why can't one person who has received a diploma of a pediatrician examine a child and decide whether it is possible to vaccinate or not? Why can’t a doctor come to our house, examine, decide what is possible, and immediately administer the vaccine?
Who needs walking around crowded clinics, queues, examinations of numerous specialists?
It would seem that the questions are rhetorical, but as long as children's doctors are poor, dependent and powerless, they will also be irresponsible, since there is nothing to take from them.
But this is all a lyrical digression, but in fact: well, why can't you vaccinate at home?
By the way, I should note that it is impossible to vaccinate at home according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Russian acts do not prohibit this. But they do not encourage, limit, warn. This is explained by the fact that after any vaccine, a life-threatening acute allergic reaction called anaphylactic shock can occur.
And here there are two extremely paradoxical moments.
- anaphylactic shock after injections of antibiotics is much more common than after vaccines. But thousands of nurses daily give children tens of thousands of antibiotic injections at home, and for some reason no one forbids this;
- emergency care for anaphylactic shock in a polyclinic is that several drugs are injected intramuscularly into the child, and while someone injects, the rest are fussing and waiting for an ambulance. Nothing else can be done in our clinics - there are neither conditions (resuscitation equipment), nor people (who know how to use resuscitation equipment).
Thus, if the doctor has with him something to inject intramuscularly (those very few drugs), then the possibilities of providing emergency care at home and in the clinic are about the same.
Summary: the risk of vaccination at home and in the clinic is the same, the risk of co-infection is not comparable. It turns out that whenever there is an opportunity to be vaccinated at home, it is safer to vaccinate at home.
It should be noted that if you managed to agree that your child will be vaccinated at home, then in almost 100% of cases the child will be vaccinated for a fee. Since you pay, you have the right to demand something (take off your boots, wash your hands) and control something (the presence of a cooler bag and a first aid kit for first aid in case of complications).
Having considered the topic of infection before vaccination, let's turn our attention to infection after. This provision is especially relevant when vaccinations are carried out in children's groups. It is optimal when vaccinations are done on Friday - then there are two days off ahead, with family and a minimum of contact with snotty peers. It is only important that a trip to the circus is not planned for this post-vaccination day ...

Results

The main thing I want to say is: tolerability of vaccination is determined by a combination of many factors. At the same time, the quality of the vaccine product has an incomparably smaller impact on the final result than the preparation of the child and the correct organization of the procedure.
The easiest way is to do nothing, not to be interested in anything, to take care of the child in accordance with the requirements of public opinion. And then an overheated and overfed baby, after an hour of wandering through the corridors of the clinic, will return home to a room with a carpet and a heater and eat an additional portion of the mixture mixed with orange juice ...
And when after that the temperature rises, or vomiting occurs, or the stomach hurts, or a rash appears, it is so clear that the vaccine mafia is to blame for all this!

The World Health Organization has declared the current decade a period of universal vaccination. In our country, this process is treated with caution. What you need to know about vaccinations so as not to be afraid of them?

Small and daring

A child, being born, is immune to certain diseases. This is the merit of antibodies that fight diseases and are transmitted through the placenta from the mother. After birth, a breastfed baby receives additional antibodies in breast milk. But such immunity is temporary. Vaccinations are needed to protect the body from further infections.

right on target

Vaccination or immunization is the creation of artificial immunity to a number of viral diseases. To do this, they resort to the help of relatively harmless antigens (protein molecules) that are part of the microorganisms that cause diseases. Vaccines stimulate the response of the immune system. The body produces its own antibodies that remember information about the pathogen and fight it. At the same time, the vaccinated person is not a carrier of the infection.

Your will

According to the law on immunoprophylaxis, in Russia, in any district clinic, the necessary vaccinations for a child will be given free of charge. If you wish, you can refuse them without giving reasons.

On a low start

Before immunization, the child or adult should have their temperature taken. If it is elevated, it is worth waiting for recovery. However, if there is an emergency - the baby fell ill with acute respiratory infections and was injured (he was bitten by a dog or there was contact with a diphtheria patient, etc.), in this case, vaccination should be carried out without delay.

If you plan to get vaccinated, be sure to get enough sleep the night before, scientists from the University of California in the USA advise. The experiment showed that if a person did not get enough sleep at night, the immune system may give an inadequate response to the vaccine.

People with chronic diseases of the liver, kidneys, etc., before getting vaccinated, it is recommended to take tests to confirm that the disease is in remission.

A biochemical blood test should also be taken by those who, shortly before immunization, suffered an acute infectious disease.

What are they vaccinated against?

From the moment of birth to 7 years old, the baby needs 11 vaccinations in accordance with the national immunization calendar: from viral hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hemophilic infection, polio, measles, rubella, mumps (mumps), influenza.

And at the age of 14, revaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis and tuberculosis should be carried out.

Calm, only calm

British psychologists from the University of Durham have shown that a mother's anxiety not only provokes general arousal in children, but also increases their pain. Toddlers catch the anxiety of adults. If a child needs to be vaccinated, do not worry, but rather entertain the baby and explain what awaits him and then you will be able to avoid a negative experience. It is the emotional rejection of the procedure by the child that often makes parents refuse to re-vaccinate so as not to “injure” the child. As a result, many children do not complete the vaccination plan completely, which threatens not with mild psychological discomfort, but with serious infectious diseases.

A special case

Most children do not need an individual vaccination schedule. However, if a child has an immunodeficiency, oncology, or a severe course of chronic diseases, this is simply necessary.

An absolute contraindication to the introduction of "live" vaccines is the presence of congenital immunodeficiency: AIDS, cancer, leukemia. In this case, even a weakened microorganism can provoke the development of the disease. For the introduction of "killed" vaccines, anaphylactic reactions (Quincke's edema, urticaria) to the substances that make up, for example, chicken egg protein (it is in vaccines against measles, mumps and influenza) are a contraindication.

Read also

Scythe on a stone

If you are taking immune suppressants (cytostatics), remember that they can reduce the effectiveness of vaccinations. In this case, an individual vaccination schedule is needed.

Weakness

Side effects are common to all drugs, including vaccines. But the risk of getting a complication from vaccination is much less than the risk from the consequences of an infectious disease.

In addition, many of the post-vaccination complications are actually not. For example, if a child or adult at the time of vaccination has already caught the influenza virus, but the infection has not yet made itself felt, after vaccination, if the rules of prevention are not followed, the symptoms of the disease may appear. Vaccination temporarily weakens the body. Therefore, after the procedure, you should go home, and not to crowded places. A slight fever or slight redness at the injection site is not considered a complication.

About the benefits and harms of vaccinations

All over the world are actively doing vaccinations. In developed countries, the lack of vaccinations in a child is considered poor parental care for his health. For many years we have been taught that vaccinations are necessary for every child. Most doctors consider vaccination the only protection for our children from serious illnesses. Others, counting the number of children with post-vaccination complications, began to sound the alarm. And, so that no one was to blame, the "Law on Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases" of 1998 declared vaccination to be a voluntary matter. The task of parents is to weigh all the pros and cons and make their choice...

Let's start with an impressive number. According to the World Health Organization, thanks to immunoprophylaxis, 3,200,000 cases of death and 400,000 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis are prevented annually worldwide.
Head of the Department of State Epidemiological Supervision of the Department of State Epidemiological Supervision of the Ministry of Health of Russia Galina Fedorovna Lazikova believes that if vaccinations are canceled, epidemics of infectious diseases will certainly begin. The pathogen circulates, and there is no guarantee that "under control" diseases will not return again. Every mother wants her child to be healthy, and if she really does not want her child to get sick, then she must realize his right to be healthy: to vaccinate in accordance with the Preventive Immunization Calendar.
Another important point that parents should be aware of. If the child is not vaccinated on time, you put off going to the clinic for later, then remember that the older the baby, the more likely it is that he will have complications. It is necessary to vaccinate a child - this is beyond doubt.

The result of frequent parental refusal to vaccinate there has been an increase in the last decade of the incidence of diphtheria and whooping cough, sometimes these diseases ended in the death of children.

What are the benefits and dangers of vaccinations?

The "danger" of vaccinations, as a rule, lies in the side effects of the vaccine. But every drug has side effects. However, with its correct appointment, it is always less dangerous or harmful than the disease in which it is used. Same with vaccinations. ANY VACCINATION IS HUNDREDS OF TIMES SAFE THAN THE DISEASE IT PROTECTS FROM . For example, vaccination against diphtheria and tetanus, which is given to children, can often cause a rise in temperature for one or two days, and diseases always lead the child to a hospital, sometimes to intensive care, often disappear after long-term treatment, but sometimes leave complications of varying severity for a long time. , very rarely, end fatally.

Free vaccinations with vaccines made in Russia are given to all children in district clinics and kindergartens and schools attached to them against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps, hepatitis B. This mandatory vaccinations included in the national calendar.

The effectiveness of vaccination is a guarantee not to get sick or to suffer a disease in a mild form.

Side effects from vaccinations usually include a fever of up to 38 degrees and some discomfort, soreness, and redness at the injection site for two to three days. Severe complications are extremely rare. Careful medical examination, drawing up an individual vaccination schedule, compliance with the rules of vaccination minimizes the risk of serious complications for vaccination.

In vaccinations, not only individual, but also "collective" immunity is important, that is, the more children in a given region are vaccinated, the less the possibility of an epidemic, the less the possibility of getting sick.

For each child (adult), it is desirable to draw up an individual vaccination schedule.
If you have any doubts about the need vaccination or you need to be sure that the vaccination protects you (perhaps you already have the necessary immunity), you can check the level of antibodies to the infection you are interested in in the blood. Such a check is possible before and after vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, rubella, measles, mumps, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, influenza, meningitis, tuberculosis, tick-borne encephalitis. This can be done in a clinic or in private clinics.

If you still decide not to get vaccinated, then, if possible, take out insurance in case of illness (tick-borne encephalitis)

About contraindications

Attitude to contraindications for vaccination is constantly changing - there are fewer and fewer reasons for "recusals", the list of diseases that exempt from vaccinations is getting shorter. You will ask why?

First, in children and adults with chronic diseases, the infections that vaccines protect against are much more severe and lead to more complications. For example, it is known that in patients with eating disorders, infected with tuberculosis and HIV, measles is very severe, in premature babies - whooping cough, in patients with diabetes mellitus - rubella, influenza - in patients with bronchial asthma, pneumococcal infection - in patients with blood diseases, viral hepatitis - in patients with liver diseases, chickenpox - in patients with leukemia. Protecting such children from vaccinations is simply wrong.

Secondly: the technology of production, purification of vaccines is constantly being improved.

Thirdly: experience shows that vaccination with modern vaccines does not increase the risk of worsening of the course of chronic diseases.

Allergy and vaccination

There is a widespread concern that in patients with allergic disorders (skin diseases, bronchial asthma) vaccinations may exacerbate these disorders. In some cases, indeed, patients with allergies may experience an exacerbation after vaccination, but as practice shows, in most cases such exacerbations are associated with food error, contact with an allergen, or insufficiently intensive basic treatment. Vaccination should be carried out with the addition of antihistamines.

Febrile seizures and vaccinations

Another common cause of medical withdrawal is febrile convulsions (i.e. convulsions against the background of a significant increase in temperature). Children with short-term (less than 15 minutes) febrile convulsions are vaccinated on a calendar basis by prescribing paracetamol for 1-2 days after DTP and from 4 to 6 days after measles vaccination. Children with afebrile seizures (i.e., not associated with fever), which can be provoked by the pertussis component of DTP vaccine and measles vaccine, are vaccinated against the background of effective anticonvulsant therapy with facilitated vaccines. A child with a family history of epilepsy (family members) is vaccinated as usual.

Complications after vaccination in the family, allergies in family members: Contraindications to vaccinations and allergic disorders are not inherited.
Vaccines- this is an immunobiological active drug that causes certain changes in the body - desirable, with the aim of forming the immunity of the vaccinated to this infection, and undesirable, that is, side reactions.
The term "adverse reactions" is used to refer to unwanted reactions of the body that have arisen after vaccination. In general, adverse reactions are a normal reaction of the body to the introduction of a foreign substance and in most cases reflect the process of developing immunity. If adverse reactions are not severe, then this is even a sign that is favorable in terms of developing immunity. For example, a small induration that occurs at the site of vaccination with a hepatitis B vaccine indicates the activity of the process of developing immunity, which means that the vaccinated person will be really protected from infection.
Naturally, an increase in body temperature to 40 ° C cannot be a favorable sign, and such reactions are usually attributed to a special type of severe adverse reactions. Such reactions, along with complications, are subject to strict control. If there are many such reactions to a given vaccine production batch, then such a batch is removed from use and subject to repeated quality control.
The frequency of adverse reactions is also well studied. It is no secret that the rubella vaccine, which has been used abroad for more than 30 years, causes about 5% of general reactions, that the hepatitis B vaccine, which has been used for more than 15 years, causes about 7% of local reactions.

In contrast to adverse reactions, vaccination complications are undesirable and rather severe conditions that occur after vaccination. It should be noted that, unlike adverse reactions, complications are extremely rare. Order: 1 in a million

The reasons may be the individual characteristics of the organism (an unexpectedly strong allergic reaction to the repeated administration of the vaccine), the addition of an infection - purulent inflammation at the injection site and infections, during the incubation period of which the vaccination was carried out.

The practice of administering multiple vaccines at the same time

Vaccines can, and sometimes need to, be given at the same time. In cases where vaccines cannot be administered on the same day, they are administered at intervals of at least 3-4 weeks. An exception to the last rule is the emergency rabies vaccination (after a bite). In this case, the threat of infection (which remains 100% fatal) outweighs all other arguments. The number of introduced antigens does not play a big role.

In the human body, there are simultaneously billions of cells responsible for immunity, despite the fact that several thousand of them are needed to develop immunity to one of the antigens. At the same time, each cell responsible for immunity works in parallel on several tasks and sometimes can “process” several antigens at the same time.
Thus, "overloading the immune system" with simultaneous vaccination is just a myth about vaccinations.
The safety of vaccination with separate preparations is exactly the same as with their simultaneous administration. Adverse reactions to vaccinations do not tend to increase with the parallel administration of several antigens. It should be said that only a few vaccines can be combined in one syringe, as a rule, all vaccinations are given at different points during their simultaneous administration. The exception is ready-made combined vaccines, such as tetracoccus, measles with mumps, and some others.
In essence, any combination vaccine- this is a combination of several vaccines in one syringe. In developed countries, vaccines are now widely used that contain six components at the same time - vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and hepatitis. B, Haemophilus influenzae, poliomyelitis.
The practical experience of such vaccinations has proved that the safety indicators of vaccination do not suffer in this case - the number of adverse reactions does not increase.

Vaccination medicine

Pediatricians often meet with the conclusion of narrow specialists (neuropathologist, allergist, etc.) to postpone the vaccination of a child for several months, although his disease or condition is not indicated in the list of contraindications to vaccination. How should this be treated? The pediatrician must adhere to the list of contraindications. However, when sending a child for a consultation, he should raise the question not about the admissibility of vaccination, but about the presence of specific signs in the child that justify the child's condition (the presence of hypersensitivity to the components of the vaccine, the level of activity of the process, the achievement of remission, the need to strengthen basic therapy, etc. ). Since the pediatrician is responsible for vaccinating the child, it is natural that his assessment (taking into account the diagnosis of a specialist) plays a decisive role.

Despite the fact that vaccination does help prevent about 6 million deaths worldwide, and the necessity and safety of vaccinations has been confirmed by numerous studies, many people doubt the effectiveness and necessity of this procedure. In fact, many fears are completely groundless and the benefits of vaccinations significantly outweigh their possible harm.

What vaccinations are needed?

Vaccination in Russia is carried out according to the National Immunization Schedule, which is approved by the Ministry of Health. This document defines the terms and types of vaccinations that are given en masse under the compulsory health insurance program.

Vaccination helps to reduce the risk of contracting a particular disease. The Russian national calendar includes vaccinations against the 12 most common infections: hepatitis B, tuberculosis, pneumococcal infection, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hemophilic infection, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, endemic parotitis, influenza.

In addition, the calendar contains a list of 16 preventive vaccinations that are given according to epidemic indications. They are received by people who are at risk of possible infection - working or living in areas of natural focal (for example, tick-borne encephalitis) or zoonotic infections (for example, anthrax), as well as those who work with the causative agents of these diseases. Different countries have their own vaccination calendar - in the USA they are vaccinated against 16 infections without fail, and in Germany - from 14.

A complete list of available vaccines and vaccination dates can be found.

Is it possible to get vaccinated according to an individual schedule?

Can. In some cases, vaccinations can be delayed. The decision on this should be made by the doctor after examining the patient and conducting the necessary tests. In any case, the individual schedule assumes that the child will receive all the necessary vaccines, but later than recommended by the National Immunization Schedule.

Choosing an individual vaccination schedule without obvious reasons is not worth it - any alternative vaccination schedule is unsafe. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia explains that individual vaccination only increases the period of time in which a child can contract one or another infectious disease that can be protected by a vaccine.

About 88% of American pediatricians are daily asked to delay vaccination - mainly this request of parents is due to the fact that a small child receives too many vaccines, and this (in their opinion) negatively affects the functioning of his immune system. Experts, on the other hand, answer that the body is confronted with pathogens that its immune system is forced to fight every day.

But can vaccines cause allergies?

As with any drug, the vaccine may cause side effects. There may be redness in the injection area, a rise in temperature, a rash develop - as a rule, such reactions are short-lived and quickly disappear.

In some cases, more serious side effects develop, but they are very rare. American neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta explains that "the risk of developing a serious allergic reaction to the measles vaccine is 100 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning."

Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

No. This popular myth is associated with an article published in 1988 in the respected scientific journal The Lancet. Its author, Andrew Wakefield, argued that there is a connection between vaccination and om. However, in 2010, the article was retracted, and the author was deprived of his medical license. It turned out that only 12 people took part in the experiment, and in addition, Wakefield was financially interested in demonstrating this dependence. Not a single scientist managed to repeat his results, which means that the conclusions published in the article are incorrect.

Isn't it better to strengthen the immune system naturally?

Newborn children in the first months after birth are protected by antibodies received from their parents. This period, however, is short and soon the child becomes defenseless against most diseases.

Natural immunity against measles, whooping cough and other dangerous diseases can only be formed if the child is ill with them. However, it is strange to expose the baby to one disease or another on purpose. First, the severity of the disease cannot be controlled and the child may develop serious complications. Secondly, an infected patient himself becomes a source of infection and can infect both young children and people with immunodeficiency.