vaccines have been a pillar of Public Health for decades protecting our kids from serious and sometimes even life-threatening diseases from the first shot in infancy to the boosters and adolescents going off to college it is important that we understand the importance of vaccinations the vaccine schedule and how it was designed on the next episode of Asad off I'm going to talk about vaccines and their importance and the scheduling that has been outlined for vaccine for immunizations on the next episode ask the dunk send in your questions to questions at allhealth tv.com or all Health go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the ask the do page on our website allhealth tv.com welcome to ask the doc a show where we encourage you viewers to send in your questions and I can answer them for you in real time I'm Dr Scarlet constant and today I'm going to discuss vaccines and the immun immunization schedule and its importance here's our first question now coming in from the YouTube channel Harper says hi Dr C I'm a new mom and I'm Pro vaccine but I'm concerned about how early my in my baby's life she's getting these shots I understand about things like whooping cough and measles but why do tiny babies need a hepatitis b shot isn't that a sexually transmitted infection well Harper Hepatitis B can be transmitted in many different ways it's actually a a virus that is transmitted via uh bodily fluids and the most common way to transmit Hepatitis B is from mother to baby during the birthing process that is the most common way that we have seen it transmitted other ways are yes sexual contact sharing needles blood exposure in the lab touching a dirty needle accidentally there are many different ways to transmit Hepatitis B and I just want you to remember that the time that the children get their vaccines it doesn't necessarily mean we're trying to prevent that exact illness at the time it just means that we want the infant or child to have full immunity before a certain age so but we don't have to worry about them getting the disease for example during the birthing phase Hepatitis B is given within the first 24 hours of life this is because like I mentioned before you could actually transmit Hepatitis B during the birthing process the reason why they get the subsequent boosters early on in life not it's not because they might be exposed to hey again because there's only one birthing process and they obviously are not going to be exposed to a dirty needle or poke themselves accidentally but you want them to get their boosters so they can establish full immunity so that you don't have to worry about it in the future I hope that this helps Harper the next question is coming from the all Health TV Albert says how can parents prepare their children for getting vaccinated to reduce anxiety and discomfort that's an excellent question and as a pediatrician I appreciate it Albert because you know it vaccine I think that well first of all the fact that we call them shots is anxiety provoking enough right they're vaccinations that we inject but everybody knows them commonly as shots so I think what happens is as parents we have a bit of anxiety because we know that our child is going to be in pain we know that it's a it's kind of a stressful process and you have a big needle and you're going to inject your sweet innocent little baby so that anxiety is already transmitted to your child before you even arrive at the doctor's office so my suggestion as a parent is to talk about vaccinations at home to your young child that actually understand explain the importance of vaccinations and explain that going to the doctor's office to get their immunizations is a positive process it's a way to protect them I tell my patients all of the time I'm giving this to you because I care about you and I want to protect you and I want to keep you safe and if you change it to a positive thing then the children are actually less anxious about it and they're more receptive because they're not coming in feeling like they're walking into like off of a pier or they're walking into the line den and they're about to receive their punishment this is not a punishment this is actually this is actually something that they should be proud that they're getting and it's and it's a benefit not everybody can get vaccines not every country can provide vaccines to their children and to their patients so they should see it as a privilege that they get to come to their doctor their doctor's protecting them and giving them a special immunization that is going to keep them safe and you can also tell them that you'll sit with them that you receive them as well and while it is a little bit painful the pain goes away right away be honest with them let them know rather than making them feel like it's some form of punishment and might I add that as a pediatrician I would appreciate it if parents didn't say you better behave or the doctor's going to give you a shot hope that helps so the next question is from Facebook this is from asalo hi doctor my young son got vaccinated on schedule and everything was good now there telling me he needs booster shots can you explain that to me please what are booster shots and how do they work will he need boosters his whole life well asalo I don't know how old your son is and which boosters they're requiring but the initial vaccinations are given the first six months of Life age two month four month and six month and then there's a set of vaccines given at 12 months and after 12 months the vaccines that he's receiving on schedule are Booster vaccines so what this means is that the first the early years of the first few months of Life they received their initial vaccines in micro doses but in order to establish lifetime immunity you the child needs booster doses of of quite a few of the vaccines and again this is between ages 15 and 18 months up to four years of age they receive boosters and those booster vaccines will ensure lifetime immunity the other round of boosters that we now have on the vaccination schedule are at 11 years of age and 16 years of age and that is it they are no other boosters that your child will need they will be immune for life for all of the immunizations that theyve received if you guys have any questions or would like to submit anything and you need to and you don't remember how to do it take a look down below send in your questions to questions allhealth tv.com or allhealth go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the askthe do page on our website allhealth tv.com okay so we have a few more questions coming in let's take a look this is a question from Janisha doctor I know vaccines don't cause autism they don't but I still hear that from people why is that myth so prevalent can you straighten out the vaccine haters please well Janisha unfortunately that myth is so prevalent because there are new groups of people every couple of years that breathe life into that myth over and over it is exactly that a myth there is no correlation between vaccine Administration and autism autis you are born with Autism it is a developmental disorder and you cannot get a developmental disorder by receiving an immunization uh shot of a vitamin or any other type of medication you cannot induce a developmental disability with that said the problem is is that in this day and age we have a lot of information by various sources we can read information wherever we want we can access information by so many different means and so many different sources and the importance is to vet these sources as a parent you are looking you are seeking information on on how to raise your child or what to give your child or medical information for your child you need to vet the sources you need to make sure that you are receiving information that is from accredited source and then use that information to make educated decisions for your family so some people do not bet their sources they'll read anything that's in black and white wherever they find it and believe it and unfortunately that is how myths and lies and Miser information are spread here we have another question coming in this is from Facebook from AA doctor my daughter has gotten so many vaccines during her young life and I'm fine with every single one of them but she's not a baby anymore and there's some controversy around the HPV vaccine can you explain what's going on about that the doctor says it could prevent her from Ever Getting cervical cancer is that true well a yes that is absolutely true uh the HPV vaccine has been around for a very long time it is FDA approved it is absolutely safe in boys and girls ages 9 to 45 but we offer it at the 11-year-old checkup the HPV vaccine is a vaccine that prevents against human papiloma virus which is a virus that has many different strains and but the most common strains that we have found to cause genital warts and to cause cervical cancer as well as anal rectal cancer and head and net cancer they have all been identified and formulated into a vaccine so this vaccine is given in two doses and it could prevent your child from getting HPV and that HPV eventually complicate getting complicated into cervical cancer anal rectal cancer head and neck cancer or genital Wars now how are these things transmitted human papiloma virus is transmitted by physical contact usually in the genital region is where the contact is it has been stigmatized as a sexually transmitted disease or a sexually transmitted infection and some parents feel that they don't need to address any infections that are caused by this route of transmission at 11 years of age which I understand but please understand number one you were not actually worried or we're not stating that your child is actually active and number two you do not have to be active in order to transmit this virus like I said it is by physical contact between in the genital region or any other part of the body so you do want to prevent your children or you want to immunize your children before there's any suspicion or any activity that's happening at all you want to make sure that they are fully immunized and in order to ensure that they're fully immunized before activity begins 11y old 11 years old seems like the right time to do it this is a vaccine that is approved for males and females and like I said because either one can carry the virus either one can transmit and there are very severe complications if either gender gets this infection and the last most important thing I think that I want to mention it's very important to know is that HPV if you do not have the strains that cause genital warts you can have HPV and never know H you patients are not tested for HPV they are not screened for HPV and there aren't signs or symptoms again aside from the strains that cause genital warts there is no way to know that you have HPV at all until you're having until there's a complication such as cancer so it is very important to immunize your children and protect them against this virus looks like we have another question coming in this question is from Gerald does my kid really need a flu shot every year he hates needles I don't like them much myself so why should we subject subject him to that why not just let him get the flu and be done with it Gerald I get this question every flu season so I'm going to tell you what I tell all of my patients first of all yes your child does need the flu vaccine every year and guess what so do you he hates needles you need to talk to him about needles and explain to him that it's not a form of harming you it's not a weapon it is actually a way to give you an immunization that is important to keep him safe and keep him healthy the reason why you want your child immunized against the flu is there are a couple of reasons for this number one if and when he does get the flu a different strain from someone in class or maybe he dodged it a few times and his immune system was down and he finally caught the flu his body will fight it so much better than had he not been vaccinated or immunized against the flu sometimes you have just one symptom alone and you get over in 24 hours it is so much better than suffering the 3 to four days of misery headache nasal congestion high fever not eating vomiting and Myriad of symptoms that come with the flu when you're immunized against the flu you get over it a lot faster the you feel much better and again your body is that much more efficient in fighting it now how is that compared to not being vaccinated receiving an immunization means that your body has almost a a supersonic response to to the disease because they receive the immunization in a in a in a controlled environment and they receive the antigen the body creates so many antibodies that are not actually fighting at the moment because you don't have the disease so you have all of these antibodies that are ready and they're waiting and they lie dormant so that if you actually get the disease they just attack right away and fight it off so this is almost like a supercharged response which you'd rather have than not being immunized so I do suggest that you get the flu vaccine every single year and I know that it is a pain to have to get a shot every year but truly it is much better than getting the flu naturally our next question is coming in and that's from our allhealth tv.com from aova the high Dr constant I'm not an antivaxer but I am a concerned mother who wants to know what the potential side effects are of certain vaccines and how common are adverse or even serious reactions well who about that is a great question why don't we watch this video and then I'll address it afterwards Jack's Mom and Dad just brought him home from a checkup Jack has some pain redness and swelling where he got his shots all common reactions that will soon go away his mom is using a cool wet cloth to make him feel better the doctor gave them some more tips for keeping Jack comfortable like reducing any Fever by giving a non-aspirin pain reliever she also recommended giving jack lots of liquid as Jack may eat less than usual for the first 24 hours after vaccination Jack's dad is reading over some information the doctors gave him which explains other mild side effects Jack could experience over the next few days serious reactions to vaccines are very rare but Jack's parents will call his doctor if they notice anything that concerns them sure his parents become a little upset that Jack is uncomfortable after he gets the shots but when they think about the risk of Jack becoming sick from any of the 14 vaccine preventable diseases they know it's worth it to protect them in the long run learn more about childhood immunizations visit cdc.gov vinp parents or talk with your child's doctor hi aova so to answer your question there are potential side effects with vaccine Administration absolutely but serious reactions are very rare as mentioned in the video usually coming out of the office the child will have soreness and pain at the sight of injection and in some of the older kids I see a lot of swelling redness and maybe even itching there's a delayed reaction sometimes two or three days later where the area gets abnormally swollen and red and warm and itchy but again very like very simple home remedies will help that cool compresses sometimes maybe a little bit of ointment to stop the itchiness but that's as bad as it gets the risk of getting the disease that the vaccine is pres preventing is far bigger than is is far bigger than the benefit of actually um just being immunized so we really don't worry so much about the side effects as much as we worry about getting the actual disease um and I do think it's important to discuss this with your pediatrician before the vaccines every time I give arounded vaccines to my patients I talk to them about the vaccines I explain the risks and the benefits and I explained some of the potential side effect side effects that might occur so always have a a conversation with your pediatrician about it and make sure you're comfortable before giving the vaccines Here Comes our next question and that is from Zoe what's the big debate between combination vaccines versus individual vaccines are there some vaccines that shouldn't be combined with others and if not why okay Zoe well it's an interesting question um just to make it clear Physicians don't combine vaccines we actually purchase them combined so the companies know which proteins to put together in the same vaccine they make one combo vaccine and they send it out to us and so yes they absolutely can go together they're the the components are just fine there's nothing unsafe about it I think there's been concern with some people that are skeptical about vaccines they feel that if a vaccine has more than is preventing against more than one illness maybe there's a preservative or a material in the combo vaccine that is harmful to the child there has been some controversy about certain metals and preservatives and things that are not healthy for our children but again these are just concerns and rumors this is not true our vaccines are healthy and safe for children they have been tested they do not have harmful metals or materials or preservatives that will harm your child now the reason for the combination vaccine is very simple it's convenience instead of coming to the doctor's office at one year of age and receiving four vaccines we have found we have been able to uh produce some combination vaccines and put them all together and get two shots instead of four or you know three shots instead of five so combination vaccines are purely for convenience it's to help you and to help your child and just to have less pokes but at the end of the day you're getting the same vaccine whether you have them all separate into a separate syringe or you purchase the combined vaccine I hope that this helps just know that they are safe and it is important to follow the acip vaccine schedule now we have another question coming in this question is from stabos hi doc would you mind giving me I mean us a brief review of the immunization schedules when we should go to the doctor's office for shots sure stos so when you first come into the doctor's office usually they should give you a vaccine schedule just to help you out and to help you plan basically your life around bringing your young to the doctor's office pretty frequently so after the so basically immunizations are given starting as early as 6 weeks of age but usually we call that the two-month Wellness visit and that's just because at two months there are some Milestones that we start looking for and we really want to evaluate your child at two months of age and make sure they're developmentally age appropriate and at that time we will take the moment to give the first round of immunizations from then on you have immunizations at 4 months 6 months 9 months 12 months of age 15 months of age and 18 months of age after 18 months of age there's a nice little break and then they come back again at the fouryear well you're you're coming again for your routine visits but you get vaccines again at 4 years of age and that's what we call our booster vaccines so at the four-year visit they get four vaccinations and they they are all vaccinations that your child has received in the past there's nothing new these are just boosters and those are the boosters that are going to confirm the lifetime immunity but in the beginning yes you have 2 4 6 9 12 15 and 18 and it is important when you leave the doctor's office to check out and make sure you ask when you need to make your follow-up appointment this is very important you know that you need to come back and get the second round of vaccine so leave with that appointment so you can stay on track it is very hard to track every single patient and call them and remind them when to come in we try to tell you the offices try to remind and call but it's better to leave if you have an infant and you know you're coming in for several rounds of vaccines just leave the office with your next appointment okay we have another question coming in this question is from theor Dr constant my wife recently heard from her chiropractor sister that the covid-19 pandemic has affected routine vaccination schedules for children is this true yes theater unfortunately this is true um I have seen personally after the pandemic that parents have what we have been calling commonly a vaccine fatigue there is just so much press around the covid-19 vaccine in particular and so much doubt and you know I think just um mistrust between patients Physicians the media our you know our our government I think there was just so much going on and so so much mistrust that everybody just got really tired and they don't want to hear about vaccines anymore and whether or not they um question the validity of the vaccine is a whole other topic but I just the fact that they have to come in and they have to get on this schedule I think people have been really tired and they just don't want to hear about it and for the most part what I've seen is that they'll just get the vaccines that are needed to get their child into school so they don't have an issue with the school but anything that's recommended such as a CO booster or maybe the annual flu vaccine or things that are not strongly recommended or required for school they're a little reluctant to get so yes that has been going on but I'm hoping that with advocacy and and um with a lot of education and um a lot of you know confiding in your position and a trusted source that hopefully that fatigue will end and we'll get back on track thank you for your question looks like we have another one coming in this question is from Miriam my daughter just had baby and I'm concerned about the baby's two-month visit where she'll get four vaccines at once can we space those vaccines out a bit hi Miriam well don't be concerned first of all depends on the pediatrician they might have a combination vaccine so that'll help so instead of having four the child will have two injections and then there is one vaccine called the Rota virus vaccine that's actually an oral immunization and so they their little drops of the baby sucks on so two two injections and one uh set of drops um I wouldn't be worried first of all these are immunizations that are important in protecting uh your your your new granddaughter so you shouldn't be concerned about that and it is not too much this schedule was created this way because we wanted to try to make sure that infants got all of the necessary prevention that they needed in their early years of life in order to protect them specifically during the toddler years so it is important to get those and spacing them out out there there is no benefit to spacing them out as a matter of fact if you think about it wouldn't you rather get two injections at once and forget about it and coming back into a doctor's office several times for several separate injections you're causing more pain more vaccine fear more office visits more exposure to a doctor's office where your child might get sick from another sick patient that's there and all for no true benefit so it's better to stick to the schedule so I'd like to recap the importance of vaccines just so that everybody's on the same page uh vaccines are important because we really do want to protect your children from life-threatening diseases that they could actually get throughout their life you want to immunize them early enough to establish full immunity so they don't have to worry about it in the future we have a set schedule that was created for patients to follow because this is the schedule that makes the most sense it captures kids at their most vulnerable time and it makes it the most convenient for families and for Physicians and you want to talk to your children about immunizations and that they're protective that they're not a punishment they're not a form of harm it's actually something that you're doing because you and your doctor care about them and want to protect them and keep them safe and most importantly we all want to protect our community we are citizens of the world and we want to protect each other and that's a message that should be repeated over and over I hope that this helps and thank you for watching ask the do I'll see you the next time send in your questions to questions allhealth tv.com or allhealth go on Facebook or YouTube or visit the askthe do page on our website allhealth tv.com e