Immunisation is key in battle against disease
JOBURG - Immunisation is essential for the health of children and it is important to know when children need to be vaccinated.
Peter Jordaan, principal officer of Fedhealth, related immunisation to preparing for battle. “You gather intelligence through reconnaissance missions before going into battle,” he said. “This is exactly how immunisation works.”
Jordaan said immunisation was the reconnaissance mission that helps protect the body if it was ever faced with childhood illnesses such as tuberculosis, meningitis or hepatitis B to name a few.
“The vaccine is in fact a tiny sample of the germs or bacteria that cause these infections, but it is so small that it in fact helps develop immunity,” he said.
Jordaan explained that immunisation is not only important for the health of children, but it is also essential to the health of the community.
“If a member of the community develops one of these infections, the rest of the community is at risk too,” he said. “In addition to helping your child avoid high risk diseases, immunisation also prevents an outbreak of those diseases.”
Jordaan advised parents to follow the vaccine schedule. “The vaccine schedule ensures your child is immunised as soon as the child’s body is able to develop the expected resistance to the illness,” he said. “If vaccines are missed or late, some can be caught up within the recommended time intervals, while others cannot because the child is no longer at risk or the vaccine is not safe for older children.”
The schedule of immunisations as per the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in South Africa is:
- Birth- Oral polio vaccine (OPV O) and tuberculosis vaccine (BCG).
- 6 weeks: OPV 1, vaccine against diptheria, whooping cough and tetanus (DTP 1 and Hib 1) and hepatitis vaccine HepB 1.
- 10 weeks: OPV 2, DPT 2, Hib 2 and HepB 2.
- 14 weeks: OPV 3, DPT 3, Hib 3 and HepB 3
- 9 months: Measles 1
- 18 months: OPv 4, DPT 4 and measles 2.
- 6 years: OPV 5 and DPT 5
- 12 years: OPV 5 and DPT 5
Vaccines are provided free of charge at public clinics such as Witkoppen Clinic on William Nicol Drive. With each immunisation your healthcare professional will discuss the side effects, however slight fevers, drowsiness and pain at the site of the injection are common.
