It's very easy to become overwhelmed with all the information that there is regarding vaccines, but the good news is that you can turn to the professional you already entrust with your child's health, our Grandville, MI, pediatrician. You can learn more about how vaccines work and why they're important by getting in contact with Dr. Jeffrey Mantia of Grandville Pediatrics.

Immune System

Your child's immune system has a very important job, it protects the body against pathogens that can cause infection and disease. It does this by identifying the foreign microorganism and tracking down and eliminating it.

But with certain circumstances, the immune system can become overwhelmed, very often when it can't recognize the pathogen and doesn't know how to fight it. That's where vaccines come in, they can teach the immune system.

Immunization Schedule

Vaccines, or immunizations, safely introduce a dead or weakened version of a pathogen into the body so that the immune system can build antibodies to protect itself against it if it ever comes in contact with the real thing.

That's a very simplified explanation of how vaccines work, as not all vaccines work exactly the same way, but they all have the goal to improve your child's immunity against certain diseases.

To help in this goal, experts have created an immunization schedule that suggests at what age certain vaccines should be given and how many doses of each to maximize their effect.

Benefits

Making sure that your child is current with their immunization schedule can help protect them against many harmful diseases and related health complications.

But vaccines in general help children everywhere, by preventing diseases from spreading the chances are greatly reduced that they'll infect someone who is more susceptible to them. Lastly, thanks to modern immunizations many diseases that were once so prevalent have been nearly eradicated.

Vaccines in Grandville, MI

To get your child caught up on their vaccines you can schedule a visit with their pediatrician in Grandville, MI, Dr. Mantia of Grandville Pediatrics by dialing (616) 538-2410.