Prince George, B.C.- Today marks the start of national immunization week.

 

Today through May 2nd,  parents are encouraged to make sure their children have the proper shots.

 

Public Health Nurse Georgina Green, with Northern Health, says immunizations have fallen off since the publishing of a study in the U.K about eleven years ago. That study she says, resulted in widespread misconceptions about vaccines and  many parents began choosing not to give their children any immunizations at all.

 

“At that time, I was working as a pediatric nurse in a Paediatric High Dependency Unit, which is where the very sickest of children were admitted. Unfortunately, we admitted a 15 month old toddler with meningitis C, which is a vaccine preventable disease.”

 

Meningococcal C is a bacteria that causes an infection of the fluid and lining that covers the brain and spinal cord and septicemia which is an infection of the blood. For every 100 children who get sick with meningococcal C disease, 15 will die. Those that do survive can be left with permanent complications such as brain damage and deafness.  This child eventually died from complications.

 

Green says she wants to share her story and highlight the importance of immunizations, to ensure that no other family has to suffer the loss of a child in this way. “I still see how the misconceptions from this study have affected immunization rates, even in Canada; that parents and the general public still have concerns around vaccine safety. What I do know is that this child’s life would have been saved had she received the meningitis C immunization to prevent this infection.”

 

 

National Immunization Awareness week is an annual event to highlight the importance of protecting Canadians from vaccine-preventable diseases and will be held April 25 - May 2, 2009.

 

Anyone with questions can contact a local  Public Health Unit or if they would like to book an appointment for immunization. You can also visit www.immunizeBC.ca or call 8-1-1 to speak with a registered nurse.