The Importance of Immunization for Children

Did Friends of Hermina know that newborns need to be immunized? This is because immunization is useful for preventing infants or children from developing diseases in the future. In fact, there are some parents who are still hesitant to give immunizations to their children because they are afraid that the child will get sick after receiving the immunization, resulting in the baby or child not getting the required immunization. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines immunization as the process by which a person becomes immune or resistant to an infectious disease. Immunization, or vaccination, is one of the efforts to increase the body's immunity against a disease. Immunization is important for everyone, especially for children. Therefore, every parent is obliged to provide immunization vaccines because this has been regulated in the Regulation of the Minister of Health Number 42 of 2013.

Parents need to have good knowledge about immunization and its benefits so that they are more confident in giving it to their babies or children. Until now, it has been proven that immunization saves a lot of human lives by reducing morbidity and eradicating infectious diseases that occur in the world. Here are some reasons parents need to know about the importance of immunization for their children:

1. Immunization is a child's right In Indonesia, immunization efforts have been carried out since 1970. One of the reasons why immunization is given to children is to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been enforced by the United Nations since September 2, 1990. This Convention on the Rights of the Child includes the rights to survival, the right to develop, the right to protection, and the right to participate in community life. So, the government and parents are obliged to seek the best health for children's growth and development. By giving immunizations to children, it means that parents have fulfilled their children's rights.

2. The Impact of Infectious Diseases is More Dangerous than the Impact of Immunization Diseases that occur from infection generally have severe and dangerous effects that can be caused, such as disability or even death. This dangerous impact can be prevented if children are given immunizations. The impact of immunization is usually only a fever; it will not be as dangerous as being exposed to the disease.

3. Immunizations are administered on a regular basis.The Ministry of Health and the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDI) have prepared a schedule for giving immunizations in such a way. This schedule is adjusted for the age group most affected by the disease. For example, the disease HIB (Haemophilus influenza Type B), which causes pneumonia (pneumonia) and meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain), is more common in the age group of less than 1 year. Therefore, the HIB immunization should be given when the baby is 2 months old and not delayed until the baby is more than 1 year old.

4. Requires Immunization Booster Based on research, levels of immunity (antibodies) that are formed in infants are better than in older children. Therefore, most immunizations are given when the baby is 6 months old. Then several types of vaccines need to be re-administered after the child is 1 year old (booster) to maintain antibody levels in the long term.

5. The Benefits of Immunization Germs live everywhere, and the possibility of children getting sick is very large. If a child is immunized to an 80 percent level, it can be protected from the effects of severe to fatal infectious diseases.It can also prevent the spread of certain diseases in the surrounding environment.

There are many diseases that can be prevented by immunizing children. However, if in the area where the mother lives, the immunization coverage is low, the spread of the disease will be very fast. Children who are not immunized are at risk of becoming cases and also a source of transmission for other children.

It is important for parents to expand their knowledge about immunizations for their children. Parents can also get a lot of information about immunizations and children's health by consulting doctors, especially pediatricians.