Vacillation over vaccination? Here's what the kids need

TOO MANY, TOO OFTEN: Physically, vaccination shots can pose a challenge to your child's immune system.

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New Delhi: With a plethora of vaccines floating in the market, new parents are often left confused. But are all these vaccines necessary or even beneficial for the child?

Thirty years ago a child received only four vaccines but today fully vaccinated children get around 37-50 shots till they reach the age of six or seven. Physically, that can pose a challenge to your child's immune system, as this is a stage when the child is most vulnerable. So how does a parent to decide?

Only six vaccines — DPT, MMR, BCG, Polio, DT are HB — are mandatory and should be given either at birth or during the first few months. Other vaccines like those for Chickenpox, Meningitis and Typhoid are optional, or advised at your doctor's discretion, which should be given only if an epidemic of that disease breaks in your community.

So are vaccines 100 per cent efficient? Though the medical fraternity is reluctant to acknowledge it, there is enough proof otherwise. Two surveys conducted across US in 1978 and 1990 showed that half of the children who got measles had been previously vaccinated; Sweden abandoned its Pertussis vaccine for whooping cough after nearly 5140 children got the disease even though 84 per cent of them were vaccinated thrice.

We don't advise that you opt out of the mandatory vaccines, but double check with your pediatrician on the optional ones, and if your child experiences any adverse reactions then call for help immediately.