VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES
As per the official Australian Department of Health website, there has been a 99 per cent decrease of deaths caused by vaccine-preventable disease since vaccinations were introduced to Australia in 1932.
Because of this intervention, the number of ‘active’ diseases has declined as has the number of fatalities.
Approximately over half of the preventable diseases are transmitted through day-to-day activities such as sneezing, coughing or through direct contact with contaminated food or a contaminated person.
Due to the ease in which these diseases can be transmitted and the fact that symptoms of the disease are not obvious straight away, it can sometimes be difficult in tracing the exact person or instance when the disease was contracted.
Outbreaks of Disease
An ‘outbreak’ of a particular disease occurs when a large number of individuals in that particular area are not immune or vaccinated against that disease. In Australia alone, in the last twelve months there has been confirmed outbreaks of influenza, chicken pox and pertussis (whooping cough).
An outbreak is caused when a disease gains momentum through a clear and abundant chain of transmission. Due to most vaccine preventable diseases not presenting any symptoms for up to one week after initial infection, communities are forced to become reactive rather than proactive.
The best method of preventing outbreaks is by giving the disease less opportunity to populate by interrupting it’s stream through mass immunity.
Are Vaccines safe?
Vaccines are using what’s already in your body and educating your immune system on how to recognize and repel a particular disease.
When your child is vaccinated you can rest assured that it has been registered by the Department of Health Therapeautic Goods Administration (TGA) before it has been supplied to your health care provider. The TGA is responsible for ensuring the required testing and ongoing monitoring of the individual vaccines. By the time the vaccine is administered to your child it would have been through at least ten years of testing with each individual component of the vaccine tested rigorously.
The date and details of the vaccine/s administered to your child will be officially recorded on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register. You will also receive a copy of the possible side-effects your child may experience after being immunized.
All information on the diseases themselves and the actual vaccinations is available to the public via the Australian Government Department of Health website.
References
List of diseases for Vaccination
Safety of Vaccines