AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AT RISK FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES

African American children are at a great risk of contracting infectious diseases like measles, due to not receiving full doses of vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Photo Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
African American children are at a great risk of contracting infectious diseases like measles, due to not receiving full doses of vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Photo Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AT RISK FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES

By Christopher Shuttlesworth

African American children may be at a greater risk of contracting infectious diseases that are considered contagious and sometimes deadly, due to the children not receiving complete vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In fact, 30 percent of African American children from ages 19 through 35 months old have not been fully vaccinated with the full series of CDC-recommended vaccines, according to the 2015 National Immunization Survey.

In the past, vaccinations have prevented infants from contracting infectious diseases like polio or rotavirus, which once killed or harmed many infants, children, and adults. CDC reported that two-year-old babies should receive vaccinations of more than one dose to build up their immunity and protect them from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.

The 14 vaccine-preventable diseases include polio, tetanus, the flu, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, rubella, hib, measles, whooping cough, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, mumps, chickenpox and diphtheria. CDC explained in a health report that babies should receive at least three doses of the vaccine that protects against Hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver damage and liver cancer.

Dr. Litjen Tan, who is the chief strategy officer at the Immunization Action Coalition, said in order for diseases like this to transmit, an individual must be vulnerable to the disease.

“If you have not seen the cold before and I breathe on you, then your immune system would

take two weeks just to prepare to fight the cold,” Tan said. “But unfortunately, most people get

sick within the two week period.”

He continued to explain that if a doctor treats an individual with a hypothetical cold vaccine, then the vaccine trains the immune system to learn about the cold so it only takes two days to prevent the cold.

“When everyone’s immune system becomes trained, then the germs like small pox have no place to reside,” Tan said. “When we protect our kids, then there is no place for the diseases to go, which is called community immunity. You will have immunity in the community, which protects everyone because the germs can’t circulate andpass from one person to another.”

He said he understands why parents are so skeptical about vaccines because there is so much

misinformation about vaccines today.

“There are so many pieces of misinformation and the last thing we want to do is not listen to

the parents,” Tan said. “So, I would listen to their concerns and based on what they tell me, then I will work to address their concerns.”

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