Houston Vaccination and Immunization Clinic
Do you have a child in need of immunizations and vaccinations as preparation for going to school?
Doctors Clinic Houston is a leader in the greater Houston area in providing patients with complete, up-to-date immunizations and vaccinations. Our professional staff can administer various types of vaccinations and immunizations, including those for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, TB, polio, DTAP, flu and MMR.
Doctors Clinic Houston has several locations throughout the greater Houston area to provide all your immunization and vaccination needs when you need them most.
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Immunization
Although they are often used interchangeably, “immunizations” and “vaccinations” are related yet distinct terms. Here is the difference: A vaccination occurs when the medicine is administered to you, whereas an immunization is what happens after you receive the vaccination. Both refer to medical processes that prevent a person from acquiring or transmitting a variety of diseases or illnesses.
Before vaccines were invented, the only method of disease immunization was to acquire a disease and survive it. This approach may have worked for some but it was not terribly effective as it did not prevent many people from becoming sick or even dying as a result of the disease. Therefore, a medical solution was needed that would ensure that the greatest possible number of people would not catch or transmit a disease in the first place.
How Do Vaccinations Work?
Vaccines are often made from weakened or killed forms of the invading disease. They behave much like an active form of the disease, which prompts the immune system to treat it as such. As a result, the immune system is able to recognize the disease and destroy it. In addition, vaccines enable the body to keep a record of the disease and prepare a defense against future attacks. For this reason, people should not be alarmed if they get sick after an immunization–if anything, it is an indication that the vaccine is working to build its immunity.
Among the diseases that immunizations can prevent:
- Adenovirus
- Anthrax
- Diphtheria
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Haemophilus Influenzae Type B
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Seasonal Influenza
- Japanese Encephalitis
- Measles
- Meningococcal
- Mumps
- Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
- Pneumococcal
- Polio
- Rabies
- Rotavirus
- Rubella
- Shingles
- Smallpox
- Tetanus
- Typhoid Fever
- Varicella
- Yellow Fever
Why Are Vaccinations Important?
Your body has an in-built defense known as the immune system to combat foreign invaders (otherwise known as diseases). The foot soldiers in this war are the bacteria that multiply and seek to overwhelm the immune system with its sheer numbers. In response, the body produces leukocytes (or white blood cells) that seek and destroy disease-causing organisms. Because infections and viruses continually mutate, however, it becomes harder for your body’s defenses to ward them off, thereby resulting in illness.
When taken early, vaccines are the best way to prevent getting sick in the first place. Not only do they support the immune system in its fight against infectious diseases, vaccines also make you immune to subsequent infection. For this reason, doctors strongly recommend that young children get immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases as they are especially susceptible to diseases and infections.
Who Should Be Immunized?
Immunizations are especially important for infants and young children six years old and younger. This is because those who fall within that age group are especially vulnerable to exposure to potentially life-threatening diseases. The immunization schedule for children under six may vary depending on the child’s location, his or her health factors, and the nature of the vaccines themselves. A physician will often administer a combination vaccine for the sake of efficiency and so children do not have to experience the physical and mental pain of multiple shots.
Once children reach their pre-teen and teenage years, vaccination shots are less frequent though no less important. Individuals in this age group are given vaccines that they would not have been exposed to at an earlier age, such as a vaccine to protect against meningococcal disease. With that said, one never outgrows the need for vaccines. It is important for adults to stay up-to-date on their vaccinations and receive certain shots like the flu vaccine on a yearly basis.
Make sure you are current with the latest vaccinations so that you can stay fully immunized by visiting you local Doctors Clinic Houston location!
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