As parents, we recognize the importance of reading labels. I’m just as guilty as the next person: Follow me around the grocery store during my weekly shopping trip, and you’ll see that I’m definitely one of those people who stands in the aisles reading labels of every packaged food I buy, and I quickly reject anything that has a laundry list of ingredients with a lot of unfamiliar, unpronounceable items.

It is true that some vaccine ingredients could be toxic…at much higher doses. But any substance — even water or the sun — can be toxic given a large enough dose. And at a very low dose, even a highly toxic substance can be safe. Just look at Botox — one of the most toxic substances known to hu­manity — which is injected in small quantities into a person’s face to reduce wrinkles.

Vaccines keep us healthy and protect us from catching devastating diseases. But what about the children who have parents who can’t afford vaccines?

The good news: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most insurance companies to cover the cost of all recommended vaccines (including seasonal flu) without charging a deductible, copayment or coinsurance. Most are free as long as they are administered by an “in-network” provider.

During National Infant Immunization Week, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the importance of on-schedule vaccination. As a reminder, the CDC and medical experts created the childhood immunization schedule after thorough research and to help protect babies as early as possible from 14 preventable diseases.

Infants are particularly susceptible to whooping cough — or pertussis, as it is more technically called. And parents are often the sources of the disease, unknowingly passing it on to their babies. 

Lisa Dettling, who was instrumental in starting the Washoe County Coalition for Childhood Immunizations, which has since evolved into Immunize Nevada, shares why she made the decision to immunize her daughters on time and on schedule.