There has been a fringe controversy in recent years about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, but the vast majority of doctors and health organizations agree that vaccines are not only safe and effective but essential to public health. There is an overwhelming amount of verifiable scientific evidence to support routine vaccinations for all children. Below are the three primary reasons to get your child vaccinated.

Why You Should Vaccinate Your Child

1. Protect Your Child's Health

As a parent, you want to do everything possible to protect the health and well-being of your child. Vaccinations are the single best way to safeguard your child against preventable diseases. And they not only protect against diseases, but they also protect against complications that can arise from them, which, depending on the illness and its severity, might include limb amputation, paralysis, brain damage, or death.

2. Prevent Other Children From Getting Sick

When parents don't vaccinate their children, preventable diseases become problems once again. Take measles, for example. It was eliminated from the U.S. by the year 2000, only to reemerge with a vengeance when more and more parents believed unsubstantiated myths and stopped vaccinating their children.

By vaccinating your child, you are extending protection to other children as well through a phenomenon known as herd immunity, in which large numbers of vaccinated people naturally keep a preventable disease out of a community and keep others from getting it. With increased numbers of unvaccinated children comes less herd immunity…and the return of preventable diseases.

3. Save Time, Expense, & Worry

Getting vaccinations for your child just makes practical sense. The time, money, and stress of caring for a child who has fallen ill with a preventable disease can take a dramatic toll on every member of the family. Also, unvaccinated children may not be allowed in certain schools, day care facilities, and extracurricular activities. To provide the healthiest, fullest life possible for your child, have them vaccinated.

There is no reason to fear vaccines. Fairview Clinic, P.C. offers vaccinations to patients of all ages in Wiregrass and all of Houston County, AL. This full-service medical clinic has in-house laboratory testing and a staff of caring, dedicated physicians to handle all aspects of targeted and preventive care. Call (334) 794-3192 or visit them online to schedule your child's vaccinations today.