Vaccination is a mechanism that saves lives and is a preventive measure, not only for one’s own benefit, but for that of the community.
Dr. Wilfredo de Jesús Rojas, pediatric pulmonologist of the Mennonite Health System. Photo: Provided by the doctor to the Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
Pediatric specialists on the island once again emphasized the importance of completing the vaccination schedule in children, since problems were identified in their follow-up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of his emphasis was to be able to resume the immunization process in the general population, emphasizing those under 18 years of age who come to be vaccinated, not only against SARS-CoV-2, but also receive the available doses and recommended for their age.
“We want to carry the message so that they can understand how vaccines work, how they protect our children, ourselves as parents and how it protects the community in general,” said the Dr. Wilfredo de Jesus Rojas, pediatric pulmonologistin an exclusive conversation with the Journal of Medicine and Public Health.
Currently, there are about 200 viruses that cohabit in the community and are present on all surfaces. In fact, a greater number of these germs have been found in infant utensils, which is why children between the ages of 3 and 5 are more likely to get an infection and take it home.
“Not only can they become infected, but they also infect the people who live with them,” explained the specialist. “We have vaccines for some viruses, but not for all. It is important that we can protect ourselves as much as possible, and counteract the number of infections.
Vaccination scheme
Pediatric vaccination starts from birth, with immunization against hepatitis and, eventually, follow-up doses should be administered at 2 months of life, at 4 months, 6 months, at the first year, 4 years, 11 years and so on.
“These drugs have been studied for many years, and we know that the moment in which the vaccine is given to the child is the ideal one and it will have the best possible effect to achieve complete immunity,” said Dr. Red.
One of the main challenges for pediatricians is to make parents aware of the importance of the influenza vaccine, since it is one of the viruses with the highest incidence on the island, which can cause alarming symptoms, such as colds, runny nose and difficulty breathing, and may require hospitalization.
“What these vaccines do is that they help us develop defenses that train us for when we have an exposure and thus we can counteract it.”
Additionally, the current plan of the Department of Education involves this active campaign to motivate parents and children to follow the vaccination schedule as a preventive measure to avoid infectious outbreaks in schools and educational centers.
“A prick and seeing them cry for 2 minutes is much better than seeing them for a whole week in the hospital with serum while they do tests because they have some kind of infection that could have been prevented by a vaccine,” he argued.
The invitation, on the part of the experts, is to go to the pediatric consultation and clarify all the doubts that may arise in this regard with the specialists. Also, it is important to take into account the vaccination schedule in order to protect ourselves and the little ones.
See the full program: