Reporter Chen Xiaoli
April 25, 2022 is the 36th National Childhood Vaccination Day in my country. Vaccines are related to the lives and health of the people and to public health safety. In this live broadcast of “One Point Asking Doctors and Caring for Women’s Health”, we invited Li Chuansong, director of the Community Health Service Center of Shunyu Road Office, Shizhong District, Jinan City to explain to us. Knowledge about vaccinations.
When pathogens invade the human body and cause harm, they will stimulate the human body to produce immunity. Vaccine preparations use this principle to make automatic immune preparations by artificially attenuating, inactivating, or using genetic engineering techniques. When the same pathogen strikes again, our body has enough professional immune “soldiers” to eliminate them. Generally a vaccine can prevent a targeted disease.
“In the past, our country was a big country with hepatitis B, and chronic hepatitis B patients accounted for 10%. Since the country has incorporated hepatitis B vaccine into the immunization plan, newborn babies are vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine, and now children under 5 years old carry hepatitis B surface antigen. The rate dropped to 1%.” Li Chuansong introduced.
Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent and control infectious diseases. Many vaccines have been included in the scope of free vaccination in my country. From the “five vaccines to prevent seven diseases” of planned immunization in the 1980s to 2007, the state expanded the types of vaccines provided for free by planned immunization. On the basis of “five vaccines to prevent seven diseases” Increased to prevent 12 kinds of infectious diseases, including BCG vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, polio vaccine, DTP vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, leprosy and mumps vaccine, live attenuated Japanese encephalitis vaccine, attenuated hepatitis A vaccine, poliomyelitis vaccine, etc. The new crown vaccine is also a vaccine provided by the state to citizens for free.
Li Chuansong reminds everyone: “In addition to the vaccines provided free of charge by the state, chickenpox vaccine, influenza vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, shingles vaccine, Hib vaccine, HPV vaccine, rotavirus vaccine, hepatitis E vaccine, etc., Everyone can voluntarily vaccinate at their own expense, and these vaccines are an important means of preventing diseases.”
“In the past, it was believed that vaccination was the patent of children, but it seems to be far away from us adults. With the vaccination of the new crown vaccine , and the vaccination of HPV vaccine, everyone has more and more awareness of adult vaccines.” Li Chuansong introduced that there are currently many adults who are vaccinated in outpatient clinics.
Take the HPV vaccine as an example, cervical cancer is currently the only cancer that can be prevented by vaccination. Jinan City, as a national healthy city pilot city, has started to provide school children under the age of 14 in November last year. Seventh-grade girls are vaccinated with the first dose of the HPV vaccine for free, and the second dose of the HPV vaccine will be free in May this year. “Prevention of cervical cancer starts with the vaccination of little girls. Women aged 9-45 are recommended to be vaccinated against HPV to prevent cervical cancer.” Li Chuansong said.
At the same time, the hepatitis E vaccine is also very important. Li Chuansong explained: “Hepatitis E (hepatitis E for short) is an acute viral hepatitis caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Like hepatitis A and hepatitis B, it belongs to my country’s class B statutory infectious disease and often causes liver function problems. In severe cases, it can develop into liver failure and even death.”
The incidence of superinfection with hepatitis E in hepatitis B patients is high, and it is very easy to lead to severe liver failure. When the elderly are infected with hepatitis E, the disease is usually severe, the course of disease is long, and the mortality rate is high. Infection during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, preterm birth, stillbirth, and maternal mortality.
Li Chuansong reminded everyone: “Hepatitis E can be transmitted through the digestive tract, mother and child, etc. From the perspective of digestive tract transmission, hepatitis E virus is mainly transmitted through contamination of drinking water, tableware, vegetables and fruits, shellfish and seafood. Hepatitis E infection can be transmitted by eating undercooked pork liver and meat products.”
“Hepatitis E vaccination is the most direct, economical and effective means to prevent hepatitis E. For women of childbearing age, the hepatitis E vaccine can also be vaccinated at the same time as the cervical cancer vaccine, and the two vaccination procedures are the same, which is more economical and efficient.” Li Chuansong said.