Hyderabad: World Immunization Day is celebrated every year on November 10th. This day is observed to make people aware of the importance of timely vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases. It is observed to highlight vaccinations as a low-tech, cost-effective, high-impact solution for preventing illness and disease among individuals of all ages.
If exposure to disease occurs in a community, there is little to no risk of an epidemic if people have been immunized. Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine. Vaccinations are biological preparations that prevent susceptibility to illnesses which can result in serious complications and even death. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins or one of its surface proteins.
Immunization helps protect a child from life-threatening diseases. It also helps reduce the spread of disease to a community as vaccines stimulate the body’s immune system to protect the person against subsequent infection or disease. Babies are born with some natural immunity which they get from their mothers through breastfeeding. The antibodies received from the mother gradually diminish as the baby's immune system develops, leaving the infant vulnerable to disease. Immunization is one of the most cost-effective health investments and vaccination does not require any major lifestyle change, moreover, it gives extra protection against deadly diseases.
Failure to get immunized will only end up generating expensive medical bills due to a disease that could have been easily prevented with a low-tech and cost-effective vaccine shot. Vaccines also help to eradicate a pandemic like COVID-19 that has been infecting millions of people over the past two years. During World Immunization Day, educating people about the importance of getting vaccinated is critical.
Polio is a prime example of the great impact that vaccines have had in India. Polio was once India’s most-feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country, but today, thanks to vaccination, as of 2014, India has been declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation and has been removed from the list of endemic countries.
Another example of the benefits of vaccination is the eradication of smallpox worldwide because immunization against the disease is no longer necessary. Regular and effective immunization may be able to ensure that many such diseases as the plague may be eradicated soon.
According to World Health Organisation, immunization is a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases and is estimated to avert between 2 and 3 million deaths against diseases for which vaccines have been available for many years, such as Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio and Measles, but also against diseases such as Pneumonia and Rotavirus Diarrhoea, two of the biggest killers of children under the age of five each year, but an estimated 18.7 million infants worldwide are still missing out on these basic vaccines.
Recent advances in medical science have resulted in enhanced protection bestowed by vaccination. Some diseases that once killed thousands of children have been eliminated and others are close to extinction– primarily due to safe and effective vaccines.
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History of Immunization: The tradition of immunization dates back thousands of years, as early as the 11th century, when Buddhist monks in China used to drink snake venom to attain immunity to snake bites and would also smear a tear in their skin with the cowpox virus to get immunity to smallpox.
Edward Jenner, the father of vaccinology, inoculated a 13 year-old-boy with the vaccinia virus (cowpox) and showed how to attain immunity to smallpox in the year 1796, and the first smallpox vaccine was developed. Following this, the smallpox vaccination was widely used around the world throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, resulting in the universal elimination of smallpox in 1979. Louis Pasteur, another doctor, worked with the cholera virus and was able to inoculate humans with the inactivated anthrax vaccine in 1897 and the cholera vaccination was developed.
The 20th century saw a great increase in the field of vaccine research and development. Numerous people gained immunity to diseases that were once life-threatening. Methods for growing viruses in the laboratory led to rapid discoveries and innovations, like the development of the polio vaccine. Researchers also developed vaccines for other diseases that affected children, such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Universal Immunization Programs: According to National Health Portal (NHP), India has one of the largest Universal Immunization Programs (UIP) in the world in terms of the quantities of vaccines used, the number of beneficiaries covered, geographical spread and human resources involved. Despite being operational for over 30 years, UIP has been able to fully immunize only 65% of children in the first year of their life and the increase in coverage has stagnated.
To achieve full immunization coverage for all children, the Government of India launched 'Mission Indradhanush' in December 2014. The ultimate goal of this program is to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines for children up to two years and pregnant women. Under this programme, all vaccines are available free of cost. A child can be immunized in a nearby government health centre. Vaccinations are also provided by private hospitals and private doctors.
Even though some diseases, such as polio, rarely affect people in developed nations, all of the recommended childhood immunizations and booster vaccines are still needed. Travellers may inadvertently bring these diseases into developed nations and infect people who have not been immunized.
Without protection via immunizations, these diseases may quickly spread through the population, causing epidemics. The same is true the other way wherein a traveller is entering a new country and immunization can help fight the common disease agents at the destination. Non-immunized people living in healthy conditions are not protected from disease. The immune system can fight disease better and faster if the individual has had the infection before or has been immunized.
A small number of people may be susceptible to diseases, such as those with impaired immune systems. These people may not be able to get vaccinations or may not develop immunity even after having been vaccinated. Their only protection against certain diseases is for others to get vaccinated so the illnesses are less common. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals. The benefits of vaccination cannot be emphasized enough, and it is safe to say the discomfort or pain caused by the side effects of the vaccine pale in comparison to the tremendous pain and illness caused by the diseases that these vaccines prevent.
"Anti-Vaxxers": Even though immunization programs have been shown to have considerable health benefits, a wave of legal proceedings surrounding vaccines began, resulting in a decrease in profits for vaccine manufacturers, ultimately leading to a decline in the number of companies producing vaccines. This anti-vaccine sentiment and decline in vaccine manufacturing were stopped partially due to the implementation of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the U.S. in 1986. However, it was not able to completely eradicate people’s mentality because anti-vaccination individuals still linger in vast numbers around the world.
There are very few medical reasons (contraindications) to delay immunization among children such as, the child has a high fever, has gone through a bad reaction to another immunization, has developed a severe reaction after eating eggs, has a history of convulsion (fits), cancer or other illnesses like HIV or AIDS that affect the immune system.
Immunization is important to live a long and healthy life and people should make sure they have been immunized for all diseases including COVID-19. Apart from immunization, practising a healthy diet can go a long way in maintaining good health. Meet a nutritionist and plan a good diet plan for yourself. People can spread the message about getting vaccinated by sharing posts on social media using the hashtag #WorldImmunizationDay. Getting immunized is not just for you; it also affects everyone around you. As an immune person, the people around you will not be under the threat of catching the disease.
