Guthrie County Health Services Director Jotham Arber highlights August as National Immunization Month.

Arber mentions that it is important to recognize how important immunizations are, along with what they are. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio what happens when a vaccine shot is administered.

“We give your body just enough information about that virus or whatever pathogen it is that we’re targeting. So just a piece of it, and then your body reads that. Most of the time your body handles it just great. You get the shot, maybe you get a sore arm or whatnot, but then when your body is exposed to that virus, naturally occurring virus or a virus in the wild, it has what it needs to mount a quick response and put that virus out of the system so that you don’t get an actual core sickness.”

Arber mentions that immunizations help keep people from getting potentially serious diseases like mumps, measles and rubella, along with preparing the body for fast mutating viruses like influenza so that they don’t become severely ill if they get it. He adds that this helps keep the people healthier.