National Immunization Awareness Week 2017

4/26/2017

Please protect yourself and your community by getting immunized!

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A Message about Vaccines from FNHA Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Evan Adams

It's National Immunization Awareness Week, so I'm taking this opportunity to remind you of the importance of getting vaccinated. As a physician, I am well aware that vaccines save lives by preventing diseases: according to the World Health Organization, over two million lives are saved globally thanks to immunization. So, as Chief Medical Officer of the First Nations Health Authority -- and as a First Nations person -- I am passionate about encouraging First Nations and Aboriginal people to get immunized. Please read on for some quick facts about why vaccinations are so very important for us.

Vaccines save lives. In Canada alone, vaccines have saved more lives than any other medical intervention has in 50 years. Before vaccines, many Canadians died or were disabled by vaccine-preventable diseases including diphtheria, measles, whooping cough and polio. Although immunization has almost completely controlled these diseases, the viruses and bacteria that cause them are still around. So these diseases would return if enough people were to stop getting immunized. Some are still fairly common in other countries, so can easily be brought to Canada by travellers. And, as diseases spread more quickly in closely knit communities, First Nations are at a higher risk for an epidemic. Vaccinations also help protect against cancers caused by certain sexually transmitted infections.

Vaccines help protect those who cannot protect themselves. Infants, young children, Elders and those who are ill are the most susceptible to disease.

Vaccines are safe. Vaccine safety and effectiveness testing and monitoring in Canada is rigorous and strict. Most side effects are mild, lasting only a day or two. Major side effects, e.g., a severe allergic reaction, are very rare and do not compare to the devastating effects of the diseases. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which monitors health care providers' reported side effects possibly caused by immunization, the rate of serious side effects is between one and two for every 100,000 vaccines.

Vaccines are proven. They have eradicated smallpox, almost eradicated polio, and controlled other diseases that once killed or disabled many people – including poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, meningitis and Hepatitis B. When immunization coverage rates have declined significantly, disease has returned.

Some sources of information about vaccines from non-physicians are not reliable, and make untested or untrue claims, causing people to be unsure about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. However, allegations linking vaccines to autism, multiple sclerosis or other things have been the subject of many scientific investigations over the past 25 years, and the evidence does not support any link between vaccines and these diseases, including in babies and toddlers, whose immune systems are well able to handle vaccines and are not compromised by vaccines. The recommended immunization schedule for infants in Canada was developed to ensure that newborns and older babies get safe and effective protection from the diseases most likely to seriously harm them.

Vaccines are strongly encouraged by physicians, including me. Please get yourself and your children immunized! It's one of the best things you can do to protect your community's health. If you're still not sure, please read more about how vaccines work (http://immunizebc.ca/facts-on-immunity/how-vaccines-work) or talk to health care professionals in your area.

Watch for tomorrow's immunization message from the FNHA's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shannon McDonald. It will focus on how vaccinations help protect against cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection (STI).