Community health is a medical specialty that focuses on the physical and mental well-being of the people in a specific geographic region. This important subsection of public health includes initiatives to help community members maintain and improve their health, prevent the spread of infectious diseases and prepare for natural disasters.
“Working at the community level promotes healthy living, helps prevent chronic diseases and brings the greatest health benefits to the greatest number of people in need,” reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Strong community health requires residents to look beyond themselves and take “collective responsibility,” says Caleb Backe, health and wellness expert at Maple Holistics. “It’s not just about the healthcare system, but focuses on the importance of leading a generally healthy lifestyle in order to protect the community as a whole.”
Community health is inextricably tied to individual wellness. “Good community health equates to healthy people, as a community is the ecosystem or environment in which people live,” says Thomas G. Bognanno, president and CEO of Community Health Charities. “It’s difficult to be healthy personally if your community is unhealthy.
Immunization is the process of giving a vaccine to a person to protect them against disease. Immunity (protection) by immunization is similar to the immunity a person would get from disease, but instead of getting the disease you get a vaccine. This is what makes vaccines such powerful medicine. Most vaccines are given by needle (injection) but some are given by mouth (orally) or sprayed into the nose (nasally). Immunizations are also called vaccinations, needles, shots or jabs.
Vaccines contain the same germ that causes disease. But the germs in the vaccine have been killed or weakened so that they do not make you sick. Some vaccines contain only a part of the germ that causes disease.
When you get immunized, your body is tricked into thinking that it has been infected with the disease. It makes antibodies that kill the germs. These antibodies stay in your body for a long time and remember how to fight the germ. If the germs from the disease enter your body in the future, the antibodies destroy the germs before you can become sick. It is much safer to get a vaccine than the disease.
Most people are fully protected against the disease after getting immunized. In rare cases, people who are immunized can still get the disease because they only get partial protection from the vaccine. This is more common in people with medical conditions that affect the immune system. Although these people may still get the disease, they will most likely get a milder sickness and not suffer serious complications.