VACCINATION COVERAGE

Trends in Vaccination Coverage

Vaccination Coverage

Introduction

Currently there is controversy on this issue, with government and leading scientists on the one hand, and various citizen groups that oppose routine vaccination, on the other. Given this controversy, many parents confused and concerned about the health of their children. These groups say that thimerosal; a preservative used in vaccines, is toxic to the central nervous system and is responsible for an alarming increase in autism rates among children in the United States and worldwide. Most scientists say there is no credible scientific evidence proving that vaccines cause autism. Over the past 15 years, several serious medical institutions analyzed the evidence from the United States and abroad, and all concluded that there is no link between autism and thimerosal exposure. In addition, the preservative removed from most childhood vaccines in the United States. But some health activists call into question the validity of existing science and argue that the United States government has conspired with vaccine manufacturers to hide the truth about thimerosal and autism. (Gross, 2009)

What Is Vaccination?

The vaccination is a preventive measure against various infectious diseases and is therefore also called vaccination. We distinguish active vaccination and passive immunization. With an active vaccination - including vaccination called - is the vaccine (the vaccine) in the form of a weakened fragmented, or killed pathogens introduced into the body. The aim of this vaccine is to the body's own immune system to the formation of specific antibodies and thus stimulates a specific immunity against the corresponding infection to cause disease. In contrast, passive immunization is with Impfserum vaccinated, which contains the appropriate antibodies against the pathogens in question is already in high concentration. There are vaccines against a variety of viral and bacterial infectious diseases available. (deStefano, 2001)

In addition to individual immunity of the individual, high immunization rates in the population in addition to a collective immunity (herd immunity, bars vaccination) contribute to the overall population, because depending on the source of the corresponding pathogen (called reservoir) their circulation in a population be reduced or interrupted even completely can. This will then also not vaccinate as infants or persons immunodeficient patients protected against these diseases, although they are not immune to it themselves.

Vaccines, the preparations used in vaccinations, stimulate the body's immune response by mimicking the substances that cause disease. Small amounts of antigenic material (the vaccines themselves) administered by oral ingestion or injection (usually intramuscular injection). Vaccines mimic a natural infection without actually causing disease. The antigenic substances promote immunologic memory, whereby specialized cells of the immune system become memory cells, that is, able to recognize and respond to any substance that bears the same antigen (if and when the actual disease-causing agent enters the body). When a person's immune system can respond rapidly and effectively to an infection that is just beginning so that it cannot spread and cause damage within the body, that person has developed resistance to the infectious agent.

Booster vaccinations are second (or subsequent) vaccinations, separated from the first ...