Protecting Our Children, Protecting Our Community

By, Cynthia Schuetz, MPH, PhD Community Health Education Consultant,
First 5 Nevada County

Printed in the Family Post: Spring Issue 2007

Did you know that Nevada County has the lowest percentage of children entering kindergarten who are fully immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases of any county in the state? Or that we are at risk for an outbreak of some contagious diseases because our “community immunity” isn’t as high as it should be? Indeed, we recently experienced an outbreak of whooping cough in our community, a disease that can be deadly to infants.

Here are a few facts:

• In 2006 only 73% of Nevada County’s young children beginning kindergarten were fully immunized compared to 93% state-wide. (This is a sharp decline locally from 78% in 2005)

• Federal law requires that all children entering kindergarten and in child care be vaccinated against whooping cough and ten other vaccine-preventable diseases.

• California has passed a law that allows parents to exempt their child from being vaccinated based on “personal beliefs” simply by signing a form.

• Over 14% of 2006 entering kindergartners in Nevada County were exempted from immunization based on “personal beliefs.” That’s ten times the state average. (This is a sharp increase locally from 11% in 2005).

• It has become more difficult for busy parents to “keep up” with children’s immunizations and it may be expensive.
  

Why is it important for children to be immunized?

First, of course, is to protect them from several diseases. Many of us have forgotten or never experienced the tremendous toll contagious diseases can take.

Before vaccines, parents in the United States could expect that every year:

• Polio would paralyze 10,000 children.

• Rubella (German measles) would cause birth defects and mental retardation in as many as 20,000 newborns.

• Measles would infect about 4 million children, killing 3,000.

• Diphtheria would be one of the most common causes of death in school-aged children.

• A bacterium called Haemphilus influenzae type B (Hib) would cause meningitis in 15,000 children, leaving many children with permanent brain damage.

• Pertussis (whooping cough) would kill thousands of infants.

— Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia vaccine.chop.edu

Second, immunizing children also protects the community from an outbreak of disease… or even worse, an epidemic. Un-immunized persons are protected—indirectly—against some infectious diseases by being surrounded by immunized persons. This is known as community immunity. Community immunity requires a high percentage of fully immunized people, who act as a kind of “firebreak” in the spread of disease, slowing or preventing the further transmission of the disease to others. As more and more children in our county are not immunized, the risk of losing our “community immunity” increases, which could result in a resurgence of certain diseases.

While community immunity protects us all, it particularly protects:

• Those too young to be vaccinated.

• Children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

• Those for whom the vaccine proves ineffective.

• The elderly, whose immunity has worn off.

Are vaccines safe for my child?

Parents may ask themselves if the vaccine’s benefits clearly and definitively outweigh its risks. On this doctors, scientists and public health professionals are almost unanimous: the effects of the diseases are much greater than the effects of the vaccines. We have years of evidence that show vaccines are safe. In the vast majority of cases, they cause no side effects or only mild reactions like fever or soreness at the site of the injection. Severe reactions to vaccines occur so rarely that the risk is usually difficult to calculate. Children will be much sicker if they catch the disease than they will be if they experience the possible side effects of the vaccines.

There are many resources available to parents who wish to do their own research about the safety of vaccines and educate themselves about immunizations. We have provided a list of the resources we consider to be the most helpful on the First 5 Nevada County website (www.first5nevco.org).

What if I don’t know which vaccines my child has had?

We are all so busy, it is hard to keep track of our children’s vaccine schedule. Sometimes we change doctors and that makes it even harder. The Nevada County Public Health Department is developing a new “Shots for Tots” database that will keep track of your child’s immunizations.

That will make keeping track easier, but even now, you can ask your medical provider to help you figure out which vaccines your child has had.

Is there a way to get low-cost vaccines?

Another issue is the cost of vaccines. The good news is that there are places in the community where you can get all of the vaccines for a low cost or even free. We’ve provided a list of those places elsewhere on this page. And you can always call the Department of Public Health, 265-1415 for assistance in finding out about vaccines.

Parents may also receive a call from their child’s school, offering to give vaccines. Nevada County Rotary Clubs and Superintendent Terry McAteer are providing schools with a health aid to follow-up and offer services to families this school year.

One more point: We live in a “global village,” and while the United States has had wonderful success at limiting contagious disease, thanks to our high immunization rates, other countries continue to struggle with diseases like polio and measles. Even if we don’t travel internationally, we have neighbors who do, and they may, unwittingly, bring disease back with them if they haven’t been immunized — or we may have foreign visitors who carry more than their luggage into our community.

By protecting your children you’re protecting our community. Please vaccinate.

Mobile Health Van

The cost is $10 per visit per child, regardless of how many immunizations are given.

Every 1st, 2nd, fourth and sometimes fifth Thursday of the month the van is at Sierra Family Medical from 9:30 to 11:30.

Every 3rd Thursday of the month the van is in Washington from 9:30 to 11:30.

Every Thursday (except holidays) the van is behind the Grass Valley Veterans Building, 255 S. Auburn (just up from Hennessy School) from 1:00 to 4:30.

The van is at Park Avenue School twice a month during the school year. It will be there on Mondays, 10:00-1:00 on the following dates:April 2 & 23, May 7 & 21, June 4th, 2007.