Immunizations Protect Individual and Community Health
Every parent wants to make sure their child is happy and healthy. While a trip to the clinic for immunizations won’t make them happy, it does play a big role in keeping them healthy.
In the first two years of life, children receive five sets of immunizations to protect them from illnesses such as meningitis, hepatitis, polio, whooping cough, measles, mumps, and chicken pox among others.
“Pediatric immunizations are strongly encouraged, if not required to help prevent those childhood illnesses which can cause death or result in long-term health issues such as hearing loss, mental retardation, and even infertility,” stated Dr. Noreen O’Shea, medical director for Union County Health Foundation.
The Center for Disease Control and a consortium of Infectious Disease and Immunization specialists update the immunization schedule to review time frames between boosters and to ensure all appropriate vaccines are included.
The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a potentially cancer-causing virus transmitted through sexual activity, is the most recent vaccine recommended for girls around the age of 11 or 12. The immunization fights two to four of the highest risk strains of the virus and is given in a series of three shots over six months.
With primary and preventive care as a focus, providing immunizations is one way community health centers play a role in encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
O’Shea added, “We are providing immunizations locally, at convenient hours, in a setting in which many parents already feel comfortable. We also cooperate with the state immunization registry so that there is easy access to immunization records to any healthcare provider in the state.”
Receiving immunizations protects not only the patient receiving the vaccine, but also community members who are more vulnerable to illness such as newborn babies and patients with compromised immune systems.
Many health insurance programs cover the cost of immunizations and community health centers like Union County Health Foundation throughout the Dakotas participate in the Vaccines for Children program which pays for the vaccine for children 18 and under who meet the program criteria
Community health centers also offer a sliding fee scale allowing patients to pay for health care services based on income levels. This program ensures every patient receives the basic primary and preventive care they need regardless of financial status or insurance coverage.
