Have you “herd?”

You would never know it by looking at him, but 15-year-old Andrew Westerlund has a rare autoimmune disorder, has had a heart transplant, and is recovering from cancer. As a result of the transplant, he has to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life that compromise his immune system, leaving him susceptible to complications and possibly death when exposed to illnesses such as whooping cough. You can help protect Andrew, by helping increase the herd immunity, by encouraging your patients and clients who have small children, to be immunized this summer.

What is herd immunity?

When a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected because there is little opportunity for an outbreak. Even those who are not eligible for certain vaccines, such as infants, pregnant women, or immunocompromised individuals, like Andrew, get some protection because the spread of contagious disease is contained.

Andrew’s family is appealing for help

Andrew’s mother, Shannon, says, “He does what he can to protect himself, like by trying to stay away from people who look sick, but people can be contagious before they even have symptoms and know they are sick. Andrew, and others with compromised immunity, can’t do it alone. They need help from everybody else.”

VCH Public Health is asking parents with kids going to kindergarten in the fall to have their children immunized now, before school begins. Tell your clients/patients with children aged four and up, starting kindergarten, to get them immunized, for free, from family doctors or at VCH community health centres. And while you’re at it, if you have kids entering kindergarten this fall, ensure your children are immunized now too.

Immunization locations
A map of clinic dates and times is available at www.vch.ca/kindergarten-vaccines.

2 shots total
Starting at age four all children should get two shots, in total, to protect against:

• measles
• mumps
• rubella
• chicken pox
• polio
• tetanus
• diphtheria
• whooping cough.

This will protect not only your kindergarten-age kids, but also children like Andrew who rely on high levels of herd coverage to protect themselves.