Why Are Immunizations So Important?

Doctors give babies a set of vaccinations as soon as they’re born to help prevent diseases their immune systems aren’t yet equipped to fight. Similarly, children and teens need certain vaccines and boosters, which help the body prepare a defense against potentially deadly illnesses. Here’s a closer look into the importance of vaccines for your family. 

The immune system produces antibodies when exposed to foreign invaders known as antigens. But when exposed to the full disease, the immune system typically can’t work quickly enough. As a result, children who come into contact with certain antigens can become seriously ill. 



Fortunately, vaccines have just enough antigens to trigger the immune system to build antibodies without causing illness. Since the immune system will remember the antigen, it can respond quickly and prevent the disease should a child ever be exposed. 

Doctors recommend vaccinations to protect children against serious illnesses like chicken pox, measles, and polio. While these diseases are no longer as prevalent in the U.S. as they once were thanks to widespread immunization, travelers from other territories can still infect unvaccinated individuals. Vaccines safeguard children’s health by giving them the defense needed to fight off these deadly illnesses.

Vaccines protect more than just your family. They also help keep the rest of the community safe. For some people, vaccines may not work fully due to impaired immunity. Vaccinating your child helps reduce the risk that people who can’t be fully vaccinated will get a serious illness. Additionally, it helps prevent an epidemic from developing in which thousands of people get sick and doctors and other health care personnel struggle to keep up with the influx of patients.