- 01 Feb 2012, 20:52
#16523
Not much has changed. What Dr. Shaina mentioned still stands. In addition to DPT (against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) at 1, 2 and 3 months, this combination vaccine now includes vaccines against Hepatitis B and Hemophillus influenza as well. The schedule remains the same :)
Also, parents who wish to do so can get an additional measles vaccine at 15 months as a booster. MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (against pneumonia), gardasil (against HPV, protecting against future cervical and penile cancer) and a vaccine against chicken pox are available though not on the Tanzanian program due to the govt's financial constrains. (Vaccines on the Tanzanian program are free even at private clinics/hospitals)
As regards your concern about the effect of vaccines on the immune system, rest assured they are all positive. If you remember, the immune system has a memory for previously encountered intruders. What they "remember" however are the proteins on the surface of these intruders' cells and the next time they are encountered, they are destroyed before damage is caused. This is the reason why you can only get, say, chicken pox once in your lifetime.
And what is a vaccine? It is this antigen that the body will recognize as foreign, attack, and then remember. However, a vaccine is usually attenuated, killed or is only a part of the organism. So the body is fooled into thinking it was infected. What happens when the child is infected for real is what would ordinarily happen the second time an unvaccinated child was exposed. The body fights it off without the disease becoming apparent.
So what happens if you decide not to vaccinate your child? Well, I've seen a few patients with vaccine preventable diseases in the paediatrics ward and they aren't pretty. You may think of chicken pox as a mere itchy period, but the shingles caused by the same virus being reactivated in later life is painful. Also, if a girl grows up without getting it and happens to catch it while she's pregnant (from her other children who go to school maybe), it could spell disaster for her unborn baby. Same with Rubella. Tetanus? A slow painful death may be the consequence.
Fever is a common side effect after vaccination. It's just a sign that the body is fighting the "intruder" like it should be. If your baby does spike a fever, paracetamol syrup should take care of it. :)
If Allah assists you, there is none that can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, then who is there that can assist you after Him? And on Allah should the believers rely (Qur'an 3:160)