Immunization Awareness Week was officially launched in the province today to ensure that PEI immunization rates remain high.
Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover advised that Canada has one of the best childhood immunization programs in the world. By the time Island children reach school, over 95 per cent have been fully immunized.
"In Prince Edward Island, childhood illnesses like polio and whooping cough which were once common and feared, are now rare," said the Minister. "This is mainly the result of effective vaccines and dedicated public health nurses who ensure that Island children receive their shots regularly and on time."
Immunization Awareness Week is being celebrated October 24-30 to ensure that PEI's immunization rates remain high, and that we do not have future epidemics. Minister Dover said that every effort is being taken to ensure we do not become complacent about the role of immunization for our children's well being.
Dr. Lamont Sweet, Chief Health Officer, indicated that when babies are born, they are immune to many diseases because of antibodies they have received from their mothers. "Unfortunately, these antibodies decrease during the first year of life," he said. "To keep children immune they must be vaccinated."
As part of the week's activities, posters and information brochures have been distributed to physician and public health nursing offices across the Island. A brochure called 5-1 explains that children can be protected from the five most common childhood diseases by having one easy shot.
Jo-Ann MacDonald, Public Health Nursing Coordinator for the Department of Health and Social Services explained that children on PEI get the 5-in-1 vaccine on four separate occasions when they are two, four, six and eighteen months. This vaccine protects children from diphtheria, tetanus, polio, influenza and whooping cough.
Children are also immunized against measles and mumps at 15 and 18 months and Hepatitis B at two, four and fifteen months of age.
She advised that children need to get all of their shots at the right time. "However, vaccination is not just for children," said Ms. MacDonald. "Everyone over 65 years of age should have a flu shot every fall and receive at least one vaccination against pneumonia."
In countries where immunization rates decline, diseases can make a dramatic comeback. In Great Britain, a decline in whooping cough vaccination in 1974 was followed by more than 100,000 cases of whooping cough and several deaths.
Although vaccine preventable diseases are rare in Canada, many of the bacteria that cause these illnesses are still present in the country. To prevent the spread of disease, immunization rates in Canada must remain high.
For further information on immunization, please contact the Department of Health and Social Services at 368 6114.