Understanding Vaccines
Why is this important?
Vaccines keep children, families and communities protected from serious diseases. They work by helping the immune system build natural defenses against dangerous diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough. Vaccinating your child also helps protect your community by preventing the spread of dangerous outbreaks. Childhood vaccines are especially important for families resettling in new environments, where certain diseases may be more common.
What to know
Vaccines protect children from serious diseases by training their immune system. Missing vaccines can put your children at risk.
KEY FACTS
While each country has different vaccination schedules, your child does not need to start over. No matter how long it's been, your child can continue their vaccines from where they stopped. Any missing doses should be administered according to the host country’s schedule, following the minimum required time between doses.
All vaccines go through strict safety testing
Most reactions are mild and brief, and serious side effects are rare. See more about reactions here.
VACCINATION HIGHLIGHT
Measles
There is currently a measles outbreak in Europe and it is more critical than ever to learn more about measles vaccines to protect your child.
If you are in the process of resettlement, measles can significantly delay resettlement because a 21 day quarantine is required.
To keep your children safe, make sure they get the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
MEASLES SYMPTOMS
Measles can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children. Symptoms typically include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and rash break outs 3-5 days after symptoms begin.
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The measles vaccine has had the most significant impact on preventing deaths of young children over the last 50 years.
To stop measles from spreading in our communities, 95% of children need both doses of the vaccine.
Currently, around the world, 83% of children get their first measles shot, and only 74% get their second shot. This is why we're seeing measles outbreaks in many places.
Learn more here
What Actions to Take
1.
Learn More
☐ Make an appointment with a doctor
☐ Write down your questions. Some example questions:
Can you share more about the quality of vaccines?
What are the side effects?
How safe is the vaccine? What if my child has a chronic illness?
How does the Ukrainian vaccine schedule differ from this country’s schedule?
What optional vaccines can my child receive in addition to the mandatory ones?
What infectious diseases are currently circulating in this country?
What are the consequences of some of my child’s vaccinations being delayed?
Add your own!
☐ Attend a doctor’s appointment and get your questions answered
2.
Make a Plan to Vaccinate
☐ Visit the UA Health Access website to learn more about vaccination requirements in your host country (e.g., required documents, translating vaccination cards, etc).
☐ Document any additional questions
☐ Make an appointment with your family doctor or pediatrician and create a catch-up vaccination plan, if needed
3.
Follow-up & Additional Information
If you chose vaccination
For information about normal reactions, see here
If you have an emergency, call 112
If you chose not to get vaccinated, you can
Compile more questions and make another appointment with your doctor
Key Resources
