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As the world observes World Immunisation Day on Friday, Bonitas Medical Fund has said that all parents must guarantee that their children are vaccinated on time.
South Africa has adhered to international guidelines for providing immunisations to children; this programme is known as the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI).
World Immunisation Day is observed to spread awareness about the benefits of getting vaccinated and how it can prevent many diseases in the long run.
Bonitas said that this protects the child from specific illnesses and helps improve the overall health of children in the community.
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Bonitas added:
Bonitas also added that the vaccinations were administered at six, 10 and 14 weeks and that this addressed some of the more dangerous infections that might occur in a baby. If an appointment is missed, people should arrange for a catch-up immunisation as soon as possible.
Bonitas said that other vaccines were given at six and nine months and cover measles. After receiving these, vaccines become less frequent.
“There is a good vaccine available for meningitis called Menactra, and should also be given if possible. If you are able to do this, please request this from the clinic,” said Bonitas.
Bonitas also added that vaccines function by activating and instructing the immune system on how to fight specific pathogens and during this time, the baby may become irritable or develop a fever. This is extremely frequent and should be handled with regular doses of pain and fever medicines.
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The medical aid fund continued:
Led by the United Nations Children’s Fund under the banner of ‘The Big Catch-Up’ for this year's immunisation campaign, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it wasw working with partners to support countries to get back on track to ensure more people were protected from preventable diseases.
