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Make Vaccination a Priority in the New Year

BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN

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re you and your loved ones up to date on vaccinations? WiRED International wants to make sure that everyone in your family is vaccinated against infectious disease.

 

Immunization is being promoted by people such as philanthropists Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. “Vaccination is an important and timely topic,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote in a February 18 Facebook post. “The science is completely clear: vaccinations work and are important for the health of everyone in our community.” He also posted a photo of his five-week-old daughter Max getting ready for her first shots.

 

"The science is completely clear: vaccinations work and are important for the health of everyone in our community."
— Mark Zuckerberg

WiRED stresses immunization in many of its Health Learning Center modules. Not only do vaccines protect the individual but they also protect the entire community through “herd immunity.” That is, when enough people are vaccinated against a disease, all members of the community are less likely to contract the infection.

 

Children are particularly vulnerable to illness and in need of vaccine protection. For example, The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that during 2000-2014, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 17.1 million deaths, making the measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health. Also, because of a worldwide effort to eradicate polio through immunization, polio is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

WiRED’s Child Growth and Development module for grassroots audiences offers information on a child’s journey from birth through adolescence and gives a schedule of childhood vaccinations, as recommended by WHO. Proper immunizations ensure a healthy childhood and transition into adulthood.

 

Not only do vaccines protect the individual but they also protect the entire community through “herd immunity.” That is, when enough people are vaccinated against a disease, all members of the community are less likely to contract the infection.​

Vaccines against hepatitis and flu are given to both children and adults, but many people think most immunizations end after childhood. For example, adults need to boost early shots for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis and to protect themselves from pneumonia and shingles.

 

WiRED emphasizes that a variety of illnesses can be prevented or eased by immunization. The organization highlights vaccines in many of its modules, including Hepatitis, Measles, Pneumonia, Polio and Flu.

 

Everyone needs and deserves the protection of immunization against disease. So make it a happy and healthy New Year for the whole family and get vaccinated!

 

 

 

 

 

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