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SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA 11 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,M arch 14,2019 theifp.ca The Halton Regional Po- lice Service is hosting two open houses for those in- terested in a career as a 911 communicator. These sessions will al- low potential applicants to learn of the application process, training involved and essential skills needed for the job. The sessions are set for Monday, April 15 and Thurs- day, April 18; both will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Halton Regional Police Ser- vices Headquarters (Com- munity Room) at 2485 North Service Rd. W. in Oakville. Free parking is available. Space is limited, and those interested are asked to register with Steve Van Dyk at steve.vandyk@hal- tonpolice.ca. 911 POLICE COMMUNICATOR OPEN HOUSES SET A seven-week-old baby nearly died in Brantford from whooping cough. She was one week shy of her first round of immuniza- tions. If enough people had been vaccinated, she likely wouldn't have been sick in the first place. I firmly believe that parents want to do right by their kids. But there is a lot of misinformation out there. It's clouded the is- sue and made it tougher for parents to get the infor- mation they need about vaccines. Here are some facts: . Vaccines contain anti- gens that prime your im- mune system to recognize and protect against dis- ease. Some vaccines are a one-shot deal, but many need boosters. . Vaccines are safer than cars. Decades of re- search have proven this. The risks of actually catching an illness are higher than the risks from a vaccine. . Vaccines work by pre- venting illness in the first place. Catching these ill- nesses means weeks of be- ing really sick, hospitaliza- tion and life-threatening complications. . Vaccines are not a 100% guarantee and they don't work in everybody. This is why herd immuni- ty matters. Herd immuni- ty is like building a wall to keep illness at bay. Each person who gets vaccinat- ed is another brick in the wall. . Your immune system can handle multiple vac- cines in one visit. . Missing a vaccine can be fixed by using a catch- up schedule. Unvaccinated babies and kids are 6-35x more likely to get sick than kids who are immunized. Mea- sles, mumps, whooping cough, influenza and so on are highly contagious dis- eases that spread like wild- fire from person to person. A single case can quickly become an outbreak. Right now, there are measles outbreaks in British Co- lumbia, US, France, Ukraine, Japan, the Phil- ippines and so on. Thou- sands have been infected and hundreds have died. These are not mild ill- nesses. Kids are more vul- nerable and can get really sick within hours. Measles can cause pneumonia, en- cephalopathy (brain in- flammation) or serious problems years after the initial infection. Whoop- ing cough can cause hospi- talization requiring life support, stroke or death. Tetanus can cause sei- zures, brain damage and death. Meningitis can cause pneumonia, heart infections, blood poison- ing and death. Even chick- en pox can cause deep skin infections, pneumonia, seizures and encephalopa- thy. Surviving the initial infection can still expose your child to devastating consequences. Talk to your doctor about vaccines. Mention your concerns. Get the facts. This is one of the most important decisions you will make for your child. Nadia Alam is a Georgetown physician and president of the Ontario Medical Association. She can be reached at na- dia.alam@oma.org. A LOT OF MISINFORMATION ABOUT VACCINES CIRCULATING OPINION IT MAKES IT TOUGH FOR PARENTS, WRITES NADIA ALAM NADIA ALAM Column NEWS SUBMIT YOUR EASTER EVENTS AT THEIFP.CA freedommobile.ca STOPPAYING TOOMUCH FORDATA. Authorized Dealer *Learn more at freedommobile.ca/digitaldiscount. Digital Discount promotion is subject to change or cancellation without notice. 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