Ottawa – The aim of Health Canada is to improve the health of all Canadians. A healthy pregnancy and birth, followed by a child’s healthy growth and development during the first years of life, will have long-lasting benefits.
Health Canada provides information to parents on specific topics in order to reduce the risk of injury and illness and to promote the healthy development of their infants. Health Canada also provides information and tools to assist health professionals and other care providers who deliver programs and services to infants and their parents.
Parents are responsible for the well-being of their children, including protecting them from illness caused by diseases that are vaccine-preventable. Learn about vaccination and why it is important to your child’s health.
Parents agree that feeding and sleeping schedules are important to help keep children healthy. The same goes for childhood vaccinations. Vaccinating your children is the best way to keep them safe from many serious and potentially deadly diseases. You can help protect your children by getting them vaccinated on time and keeping their shots up-to-date.
What is a vaccine?
Vaccines are made with a tiny amount of dead or weakened germs. They help the immune system learn how to protect itself against disease. Vaccines are a safe and effective way to keep your child from getting very sick from the real disease.
What is the immune system?
Did you know?
Vaccination can also be called immunization, vaccines, shots, or needles. These words mean the same thing.
The immune system is a special network in the body that protects you from germs, like bacteria and viruses that cause diseases. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system learns how to recognize germs in order to fight them if your child is exposed to them in the future.
Your child is exposed to thousands of germs daily at home, at daycare or in the grocery store. Even a sweet kiss from a brother or sister can be full of germs. Most of these germs are harmless and are easily handled by your child’s immune system. But some germs can make your child very sick.
Thanks to vaccination, your child’s immune system learns how to recognize harmful germs. Vaccines help your child to develop the necessary defences to fight disease, and to stay healthy!
How do vaccines work?
Did you know?
The word immunization comes from the word immune – which means protected from disease.
The dead or weakened germs in vaccines help your child’s immune system to make two important tools: antibodies and immune memory. Together, these tools will help your child recognize and fight off the germs if exposed to them in the future.
Most children are fully protected after they are vaccinated. This means that they will never get serious vaccine-preventable diseases.
In rare cases, children who are immunized can still get the disease because they only get partial protection from the vaccine. This is more common in children with a health problem that affects their immune system. They may develop mild symptoms if they are exposed to a disease, but will not suffer serious complications.
It’s just like… seatbelts are not 100% effective at protecting you while driving, but they significantly reduce your risk of being injured.
How are vaccines given?
Most vaccines are given by an injection (a needle) into your child’s upper arm or thigh. Some vaccines can be given orally (by mouth) or nasally (sprayed into the nose).
Your child can safely get more than one vaccine at a time. Some vaccines protect against several diseases in a single shot, while others are given separately.
What if my child can’t be vaccinated?
Some children cannot receive certain vaccines due to allergic reactions or other medical conditions. Because they can’t be vaccinated, they are at risk of getting diseases that the vaccine would have protected them from.
You can help protect your children by encouraging those around your child to be up-to-date with their vaccination. Diseases that may not seem serious to adults can be very harmful to vulnerable children.
Diseases prevented by routine vaccinations
Did you know?
Your children, like you, should be vaccinated before you travel with them. They may need special vaccinations, or need to be vaccinated earlier than usual.
Vaccinating your children protects them from many vaccine-preventable diseases. Nearly all these diseases can spread easily from person to person, mainly through coughing and sneezing. They can be serious enough to cause severe complications or even death. Getting your children vaccinated on time gives them the protection they need to stay healthy.