Avoid these minefields when getting vaccinated, otherwise the consequences will be serious!

The health of your baby is the top priority for every family, and vaccination is a crucial first step in protecting your baby's health. Many new parents do not know much about vaccines and still have some misunderstandings about vaccination.

Myth 1: Vaccination time does not have to be strictly followed. Experts say: Vaccination can only be delayed, not advanced.

Director Wu Jie Ling pointed out that as soon as a baby is born, its delicate and fragile body faces the threat of dozens of diseases, such as polio, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, rubella, mumps, pneumonia, meningitis, etc., each of which is a major hidden danger to the healthy growth of the newborn.

"Babies need the most vaccines from birth to one year old, and the national expanded immunization program vaccines alone require 14 doses. Babies who are two months old, also known as two-month-old babies, begin to enter the peak period of vaccination. Some very important vaccines need to be intensively administered this month."

Director Wu Jieling said, "How to choose the most suitable vaccine for your baby also starts from this period. For example, the vaccine to prevent polio and the vaccine to prevent Haemophilus influenzae type b, which doctors call the 'most neglected invisible killer', are vaccines that should be administered starting from 2 months of age."

She also emphasized that vaccination has strict time requirements and can only be postponed but not advanced. If the baby happens to be sick during the vaccination period, parents can wait until the baby recovers before vaccinating him.

Myth 2: Category I vaccines are mandatory, Category II vaccines are optional

Experts say: Free and self-paid vaccines are equally important, and the second category is an effective supplement to the first category

Regarding free and paid vaccines, which are classified as Class I and Class II vaccines according to national regulations, most parents have such doubts, that is, Class I vaccines are included in the national immunization plan, so they must be given, while Class II vaccines are not included in the plan, so can they be given without being given?

In this regard, Director Wu Jie Ling said that babies also need Class II vaccines, although they are at their own expense, but they are an effective supplement to Class I vaccines. The recommended Class II vaccines now prevent some common diseases, such as influenza, chickenpox, etc. From a public health perspective, spending money on vaccines is much more cost-effective than spending money on treatment.

Therefore, parents can make choices based on the baby's specific situation and the doctor's recommendation, on the principles of informed, voluntary, self-funded, on-demand and scientific. For baby disease prevention, Class I and Class II vaccines are equally important.

Myth 3: All babies get the same vaccines

Experts say: Weak babies are not suitable for live vaccines

What vaccines are suitable for babies and what the effects are after vaccination are closely related to the baby's own physical constitution. Therefore, before choosing a vaccine for your baby, mothers need to understand that vaccines are divided into live attenuated vaccines and inactivated vaccines.

Taking polio vaccination as an example, there are currently two types of vaccines to prevent polio, also known as infantile paralysis. One is the well-known sugar pill, which is a live attenuated vaccine. Because it is a live vaccine, the viruses in the sugar pill are active, and there may be a risk of reversion to virulence.

This vaccine has a very low risk for children with normal immune function, but for premature babies, low-birth-weight babies, formula-fed babies and other children with weakened immunity, as well as babies with congenital immunodeficiency diseases or acquired immunodeficiency, live vaccines may cause the baby to contract vaccine-induced polio, which can lead to lifelong disability in severe cases.

The other vaccine called IPV is an inactivated vaccine. The virus in the vaccine loses its activity completely after processing, which can avoid the risk of polio caused by the vaccine that may occur after the baby eats the sugar pill. At the same time, after vaccination, it can promote the production of antibodies in the baby's body, gain immunity, and stay away from the threat of polio. The World Health Organization believes that inactivated polio vaccine, whether used alone or in combination, is one of the safest vaccines for routine immunization.

Myth 4: Just follow the doctor’s instructions on vaccinations without asking any questions

Experts say: 4 questions to ensure quick and effective communication with doctors

In a crowded and noisy waiting room, holding a two or three-month-old baby, it is difficult for new mothers to understand all their concerns in a short consultation of a few minutes. "Due to the lack of professional guidance and the fact that mothers have a weak understanding of vaccines, they are generally confused about the choice of vaccines.

In fact, as long as mothers learn the "4 questions", they can quickly understand the vaccination informed consent form and feel more at ease about their baby's vaccination.

Question 1: What disease does this vaccine prevent?

Question 2: What are the contraindications of this vaccine?

Question 3: What adverse reactions may occur after vaccination?

Question 4: Are there any other options besides this vaccine?

In fact, to prevent the same disease, parents can choose from several vaccines, but doctors at some vaccination sites may not inform parents of all the information about the available vaccines. For example, to prevent polio, parents can currently choose OPV (sugar pills), IPV (inactivated polio vaccine), combination vaccines containing IPV, etc.

For children who have contraindications to sugar pills, if there are no contraindications to IPV and combination vaccines containing IPV, parents can consult the doctor at the vaccination site whether their children can choose the latter two. Parents have the right to choose relatively safe vaccines for their children.