The importance of adhering to the childhood vaccination calendar

The year 2020 has given us back a few words that, after years of disuse, are once again part of our everyday vocabulary: Quarantine, de-escalation, lockdown or antiretroviral.

However, there is one word that rings even louder in this 2021: Vaccination.  And although the COVID-19 vaccine is the one that is attracting more attention and expectations, we at Juaneda Hospitals would like to emphasise the importance of strict adherence to childhood vaccination for society as a whole.

Vaccination in children is very important. So much so that it has saved millions of lives in Europe and the rest of the world. In fact, humanity would not be the way it is now if we did not have the vaccine supply that currently exists.

Vaccines have become one of the health interventions that have brought and continue to bring the greatest benefits to humanity: They prevent diseases that used to cause major epidemics, deaths and secondary diseases. Like polio or rubella, for example. And what's more, vaccines benefit not only the people who are administered them, but everyone who lives around them.

That is why it is so important that children are vaccinated properly and in time, because this ensures correct physical, mental and spiritual development. And most importantly, we manage to avoid complications of diseases, which in most cases used to be fatal and left severe sequelae and can do so today as well.

The official vaccination calendar is flexible and is modified thanks to the experience and knowledge gained both from the vaccination itself and the subsequent analysis of immunity levels. Therefore, vaccination changes from generation to generation. In other words, it is not static but consistent and organised and must meet the needs of the moment for each generation. In this matter, there is a universal consensus established by the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

In the case of seasonal vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, it is very important that children with risk factors are vaccinated regularly. This is because although it is a disease that does not seem to pose much danger to a healthy child, it can lead to major complications in a child with risk factors. Therefore, it is important to anticipate the seasonal diseases and get vaccinated as a preventive measure.

At Juaneda Hospitals, we stress the importance of following the vaccination calendar in children. Remember: vaccines protect, are safe and very necessary.

If you have any doubts or questions about your children's vaccinations, we invite you to visit your paediatrician.

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