When parents bring their young children to a center providing family medical care in Andover, Kansas, they are encouraged to have those little ones immunized against a variety of viral and bacterial infections. They will receive some vaccinations that were not available when their grandparents were children. They also will not receive ones their grandparents did if they were children before 1972.
Chickenpox Vaccine
One immunization that didn’t become available in the United States until 1995 is the chickenpox vaccine. That saves children and adults alike a lot of misery caused by this uncomfortable disease. The illness is usually considered mild, especially if the child is very young. Nevertheless, the rash, itchy welts, and fever are unpleasant to deal with. In rare cases, chickenpox is serious and can even be fatal. But, it can be prevented with immunizations from providers of family medical care in Andover, Kansas.
No More Smallpox
A vaccine that was discontinued in this country in 1972 for the general population is the smallpox immunization. The disease is considered eradicated worldwide, although the government maintains a supply of the vaccine in case any terrorists were able to obtain vials of the virus to use in bioterrorism. The only people who usually are advised to be vaccinated against smallpox are lab workers who may come in contact with the virus or similar viruses.
Smallpox was deadlier than chickenpox and caused by an entirely different virus. Some 30 percent of people who caught smallpox died from the disease. Many of those who survived had permanent, disfiguring scars. Eradicating the disease globally was a substantial victory in the realm of preventive medicine.
Pertussis and Polio Vaccines
Some young children may have great-grandparents who did not have the advantage of certain vaccinations, such as those against a whooping cough, medically known as pertussis. Some of those men and women may have contracted whooping cough and still remember how terrible it was. Others may have contracted polio since that vaccine was not available before the mid-1950s. They advocate for everyone to be immunized. Vaccines against these diseases are available at a clinic like Wichita Family Medicine Specialists LLC.
