Immunization

Immunization

Protect your child from common diseases

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have dramatically reduced cases of many diseases. For example, before vaccines were introduced, Canada had more than 61,000 reported cases of measles in a single five-year period. Between 2000 and 2004, that number dropped to under 200. Rubella (German measles) fell from nearly 38,000 cases to just 29 in that same period.

As a parent, one of the most important things you can do is have your child immunized against the following 13 vaccine-preventable diseases:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Polio
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), which can cause meningitis and pneumonia
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella (German measles)
• Varicella (chicken pox)
• Hepatitis B
• Pneumococcal disease, which can cause meningitis, pneumonia, and ear and blood infections
• Meningococcal disease, which can cause meningitis and blood infections
• Influenza (flu)

Safe vaccines, healthy children

It's normal for parents to have a lot of questions about immunization. Be assured, though, that vaccinations in Canada are incredibly safe. You might be interested to know that:

• Serious adverse reactions are rare. The dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases are many times greater than the risks of a serious adverse reaction to the vaccine.
• Health authorities around the world take vaccine safety very seriously. Expert committees in Canada investigate reports of serious adverse events.
• There is no evidence that vaccines cause chronic diseases, autism or sudden infant death syndrome.