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The Importance Of Early Childhood Vaccinations: Protecting Kids From Serious Diseases

Childhood vaccinations are crucial for protecting children from deadly infections. Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to fight diseases. Different types of vaccines exist, each with varying levels of side effects. Vaccination programs have successfully eradicated diseases like polio and continue to be vital for public health.

Childhood vaccinations are one of the most important methods in preventing children from succumbing to deadly infections. In early Childhood The immune system is naive and unexposed and diseases like tuberculosis of the brain, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus can cause death or morbidity. This was what was happening early on in the 18th and 19th centuries. To reduce the loss of valuable lives the birth of the vaccination era took place in the 20th century and countless lives have been saved. Vaccines help to initiate the immune system' s defence response and hence the body is able to fight successfully when the actual infections occur.There are 3 main types of vaccines available - the killed/ inactivated vaccines, the recombinant vaccines and the live attenuated vaccines. The killed vaccines are prepared from dead or inactivated organisms. They usually have side effects that occur on the same day with pain and fever. Examples - The Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus vaccine (DTwP). The recombinant vaccines are prepared from parts of the organism cell structure and are sometimes conjugated with other components. Examples - Hepatitis B vaccine. They do not have very significant side effects. The live vaccines are made from weakened or attenuated viruses or bacteria and usually have side effects of a mild viral illness occurring a few days to a week later. Example - Mumps, Measles and Rubella vaccine (MMR), BCG - for tuberculosis.One of the most successful stories regarding childhood vaccine success is the eradication of Polio which was a crippling disease of children. The widespread coverage by the oral polio vaccine including the annual national pulse polio campaigns and the injectable inactivated polio vaccine has helped make India polio free. Certain vaccines are given in certain states in view of the endemic diseases in those states. For example - the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine (JE). This vaccine helps protect against a very deadly brain fever that has no significant cure. This is now given as a routine in Karnataka as this disease is now been reported from coastal areas, but it is not yet a part of the national vaccination schedule.

List of vaccines every infant should be given: Helpful guide for parents

Some childhood vaccines are compulsory and these are given in government and private centres as a part of the national program. There are also available optional vaccines which are not a part of the national program but do protect children from the specific diseases. These are available in only in private hospitals.There have been numerous myths related to childhood vaccinations stating that the vaccines like MMR can cause autism, etc. Oral polio vaccine had a rare side effect of mutant virus causing the disease however now this risk has almost been eliminated by the use of the bivalent OPV along with IPV. Today's vaccines are highly safe and tested well and have very minimal and predictable side effects. Indian vaccine schedule begins at birth and is intensive in the 1st 2 years of life and is completed by 15yrs. Vaccines are hence the most important method in developing resistance towards deadly diseases and there should be no fear regarding vaccinating children.(Dr Soundarya M, Paediatrician, KMC Hospital Dr B R Ambedkar Circle Mangalore)

Changes RFK Jr. Could Make As HHS Secretary, From Vaccines To Raw Milk

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a nearly $2 trillion federal agency responsible for administering health insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; approving drugs, medical devices and vaccines; regulating hospitals, physicians and other health-care providers; and steering many other initiatives affecting food and medicine.

Kennedy, who has repeatedly made false claims about vaccines, is likely to face a difficult Senate confirmation battle, with Democrats immediately signaling their opposition to his candidacy and some Republicans noncommittal about their support. If he is confirmed - or if Trump is able to use a recess appointment to install him at HHS - Kennedy has pledged to pursue his "Make America Healthy Again" plan to combat the causes of chronic disease and childhood illness. He has also discussed other goals, such as conducting more research on vaccines.

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Here's a list of some of Kennedy's planned priorities if he becomes HHS secretary:

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Conduct additional studies on vaccines

Kennedy, founder of one of the country's most prominent anti-vaccine groups, has repeatedly - and at times erroneously - argued there is not enough data on vaccines and their effects, confounding federal officials and public health experts who say the lifesaving shots have been widely studied and helped end the risk of diseases such as polio in the United States.

"The science on vaccine safety particularly has huge deficits, and we're going to make sure those scientific studies are done and that people can make informed choices about their vaccinations and their children's vaccinations," Kennedy told NPR last week.

Some public health experts say they are unlikely to trust any vaccine studies released by Kennedy, given that he has repeated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and made other misleading or false claims about vaccines.

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Revisit federal vaccine recommendations

Kennedy has long criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended list of childhood immunizations, saying the recommendations lack scientific basis and compel parents to vaccinate their children. The CDC list, which is not binding, helps guide state health officials' recommendations on vaccines and schools' requirements. CDC officials have cited evidence for the timing of the shots on their list.

While Trump allies say they do not want to engage in a major initiative re-litigating vaccine safety, they are receptive to some of Kennedy's concerns, such as his questions about whether newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine, said two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The CDC recommends children receive hepatitis B vaccines, designed to protect against liver infections, beginning within 24 hours of birth and continuing across the subsequent 18 months.

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Take fluoride out of public water

Kennedy has said the Trump administration would seek to remove fluoride from drinking water as a Day 1 goal, reversing a decades-old intervention widely credited for boosting public health. The federal government in 1962 first recommended that communities add fluoride to drinking water, citing evidence that the naturally occurring mineral prevents tooth decay and boosts oral health. The Obama administration reduced the recommended amount of fluoride; experts said adding it to drinking water is less essential because fluoride has become widespread in toothpastes and mouthwashes.

Some researchers have raised concerns about fluoride, such as whether the mineral has a harmful effect on developing brains. A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California and published in JAMA Network Open in May suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy was linked to an increased risk of childhood neurobehavioral problems.

Kennedy also has cited a recent federal report that found a connection between high levels of fluoride in drinking water in other countries and neurodevelopmental effects in children. That report did not review whether there is any connection between the levels of fluoride in the United States, which are set at a lower level, and the cognitive health of U.S. Children.

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Remove food dyes and other ingredients

Kennedy has repeatedly claimed the food industry is "mass poisoning" the American public. But unlike his rhetoric around vaccines, some of his ideas to change the nation's food policy have garnered support from both the right and the left.

In particular, Kennedy has said he wants to strip ultra-processed food from school cafeterias and crack down on food dyes - ideas that some nutrition advocates have pushed for years.

Kennedy has said he wants to "get the chemicals out" out of food in the United States, although he has made false or misleading claims about U.S. Food and federal regulations, such as wrongly claiming that Froot Loops cereal in Canada contains just two or three ingredients. And in recent weeks, Kennedy has said he aims to root out conflicts of interest among experts involved in setting nutrition guidelines as well as revisit ingredients not used in food sold in other countries.

The food industry has warned that any changes should be based in science. The Food and Drug Administration has said the association between ultra-processed food and poor health outcomes is concerning but that gaps remain in understanding how those foods impact health.

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Ban puberty blockers for children

Kennedy wrote in a social media post in May that he opposes making puberty blockers available to minors. These are medications that stop the body from producing sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone that are sometimes prescribed to youth with gender dysphoria as a temporary treatment, while the young person and their doctor decide whether to explore other options in the future. The medications can slow the growth of facial and body hair, prevent the deepening of the voice, prevent menstruation or limit the growth of breasts.

Kennedy's comments have drawn fire from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, such as GLAAD, which have accused him of spreading misinformation about the risks of puberty blockers. Major medical organizations support the treatments. About 7 in 10 American adults surveyed in 2022 by The Washington Post and KFF, a nonpartisan think tank, said they opposed making puberty blockers available to trans children between ages 10 and 14. Other countries have also moved to scrutinize the treatment, with health officials in the United Kingdom this year temporarily banning puberty blockers for children.

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Increase access to raw milk

Kennedy last month accused the FDA of "aggressive suppression" of a long list of products and substances, including raw milk. Some wellness advocates say they prefer the taste of raw milk - which refers to milk that has not undergone pasteurization, a type of food processing designed to kill microorganisms - or believe it offers health benefits.

Kennedy has previously voiced support for raw milk, such as in a 2022 video clip posted by the Weston A. Price Foundation, which supports access to raw milk.

"Since I was here last year, I only drank raw milk," Kennedy said, referring to his appearance at the group's 2021 conference.

Both the FDA and the CDC have warned that drinking raw milk can expose people to dangerous germs such as E. Coli and listeria. The bird flu virus circulating in dairy cattle has also been detected in raw milk, but pasteurization has been found to kill the virus.

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Push out federal officials

Kennedy has claimed that officials at the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies have been wrongly influenced by private industry, and he has alleged they have fought necessary reforms.

Kennedy has also taken aim at FDA nutritionists, saying last week that they "have to go" because they are "not doing their job" - a specter of a mass firing that unnerved officials inside the agency.

Some federal officials have countered Kennedy's claims by saying they share his goals of trying to improve food and drug safety and hope to find common ground.

Kennedy's complaints echo threats made by Trump and his allies, who have discussed trying to replace career federal officials across the government. Many top officials at federal agencies have civil service protections that make it difficult to remove them.

Kennedy recently said he is working to fill "about 600 positions in HHS," singling out NIH as a top priority.

"We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place by January 20, so that on January 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH, and 600 people are going to leave," Kennedy said at a conference in Arizona last week. It's not entirely clear which 600 people he means; there are about 200 political appointees across HHS and only a smattering at NIH.

Two Top Biden Administration Officials Warn Of Threat To U.S. Children If Anti-vaccine Views Prevail

Two senior Biden administration officials on Wednesday warned there could be serious consequences for the nation's children if it had to relearn lessons about the public health benefits of vaccines.

The comments, which came as the country waits to see who will fill key health positions in the new Trump administration and how much sway anti-vaccine figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Might exert, were made by Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at an event in Washington, and Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine regulator, at a scientific conference in Boston.

Both cautioned the country may pay an unnecessary toll if it adopts policies that undermine the uptake of childhood vaccines in particular.

"I think we have a very short memory of what it is like to hold a child who has been paralyzed with polio or to comfort a mom who's lost her kid from measles. It's not that many generations ago, but it is far enough away that folks have forgotten," Cohen told an audience at the Milken Institute's Future of Health Summit.

"No one wants to see a child paralyzed, a child die from something that we can prevent."

Speaking at the 12th International mRNA Health Conference, Marks said he's worried American children may die as the result of an embrace of policies that are not based in science.

What Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Might do to undermine vaccines — and what they likely can't

"What I learned in parenting when my kids were 3 or 4 years old…the whole country may have to learn…. The natural consequences of not believing in science or the potential benefit of these vaccines may be that we have unnecessary deaths," said Marks, who is director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "I'm sorry to say that. I hope it doesn't have to come to that, but it seems like that is where we are.

"I like to be respectful of people's opinions, but to me, this is not an opinion issue. It's just black and white. We know what the safety profile of these vaccines are. We know how many lives they saved, and I think we're just going to have to reiterate that and let people make their choices," he said.

Marks' comments came in response to a question about Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's call earlier this year for the country to stop using Covid-19 vaccines made using mRNA technology. It has been reported that Kennedy has recommended Ladapo — who often espouses views that are at odds with established public health policy — to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which would give him authority over the FDA and the CDC.

Cohen is a political appointee; she will not be CDC director in the new administration. Marks is not a political appointee. He headed CBER during the first Trump administration. Still, Marks alluded in his response to the fact that his future could be uncertain.

"I probably can't say much more, because I would like to keep my job — at least until I get home," he quipped.

Cohen's remarks were in response to a question regarding a comment Kennedy made on the social media platform X in March, where he said he wanted to "clean up the cesspool of corruption at CDC" and to force public health agencies to "come clean about Covid vaccines."

Without addressing Kennedy's claims directly, the CDC director described vaccines as being society's bulwark against illnesses that are no longer common because of high vaccination rates.

"I don't want to have to see us go backwards in order to remind ourselves that vaccines work," she said. "They protect our kids. They're our best defenses against these terrible illnesses that luckily we haven't seen, but we are starting to see around the world because vaccine rates post-pandemic are lower."

Asked how spirits are at the CDC these days, Cohen acknowledged there is a sense of unease, saying that "when public health is working, it's invisible. We like to be out of the news and we're in the news a little bit."

She admitted she's worried about talk in some Republican circles about restructuring the CDC, in ways that would sharply pare down its responsibilities and have it refocus more tightly on infectious diseases.

"I am concerned when I see proposed budgets out there that zero out our ability to work on overdoses, on suicide," Cohen said. "What do you think is killing people under the age of 50? Top reason is unintended injury … which is a combination of suicide, overdoses, car accidents and for children, the number one thing that is killing our children is drowning."

Cohen said the CDC has worked hard to learn from errors in the Covid-19 response, and to strengthen its capacity to respond to the next disease emergency, whatever it is. "We need an entity like the CDC as well as our larger public health ecosystem to protect folks' health every day," she insisted. "And I think we need that not just for health security, but frankly, we've all learned, for the economic security of our country. We can have our economic security turned upside down by a small little virus."

Immunization