By Samantha Semoso – EMTV Online
The number of once common cases of childhood illnesses such as measles, polio and diphtheria has dropped dramatically due to the widespread use of vaccinations.
Immunisations have protected millions of kids from potentially deadly diseases and saved thousands of lives in the process.
In fact, certain diseases crop up so rarely now that parents sometimes ask if vaccines for them are even necessary anymore. This is just one common misconception about immunisations.
The truth is, most diseases that can be prevented by vaccines still exist in the world, although they occur in such rare cases.
Vaccinations still play a vital role in keeping kids healthy, but unfortunately misinformation about vaccines could make some parents decide not to immunise their children or simply parents do it out of ignorance, putting them and others at a greater risk for illness or even death.
In Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world, remoteness and accessibility to health facilities and services has been the major setback in children being immunised.
Parents should better understand the benefits of vaccines. Vaccines work by preparing the body to fight illnesses. Each vaccine contains either a dead or a weakened germ that causes a particular disease.
The body fights the disease by making antibodies that recognise specific parts of that germ. This permanent or longstanding response means that this person is immune to that sickness or disease.
Some people believe that vaccines in the immunisation weaken the immune system of the body and give someone the very disease it’s supposed to prevent.
However, it’s impossible to get the disease from any vaccine made with dead (killed) bacteria or viruses.
