Vaccines
Under construction - last updated October 3, 2007.Â
For some reason vaccines have become a hot topic in child care. I think the main reason this is is because certain groups who are practically nothing more than scare groups are spreading misinformation or misinterpretation of information about vaccinations and their effects.
Most vaccines have been shown to be very effective and very safe for the vast majority of children. Most vaccines do not contain mercury (in thimerosal), and have not contained mercury for nearly a decade. This is a good thing!
Autism and Vaccines - there has never been a link shown between vaccinations and autism. The percentage of children being diagnosed with autism has skyrocketed, this is due to the fact that even 10 and 20 years ago autism was an almost complete mystery and was very often diagnosed as mental retardation, learning disabilities, etc. In one recent study in Japan, the number of children diagnosed with autism increased even after the MMR vaccine (another target of the autism-vaccine link myth) was no longer being administered. Many children who previously fell under the MRDD category now are being classed into the Autism Spectrum Disorder category.
What do vaccines do in your body? Vaccines are designed to create an immune response similar to that created if an actual infection with the disease agent (virus or bacteria)Â were present and then cleared by the body. This creates an immunity, the immune system’s memory (B and T cells)Â now knows the disease agent and can successfully keep it from infecting the body. Some vaccines use proteins that are specific to the disease agent to elicit this immune response, some vaccines use an attenuated (weakened, non-infectious) strain of the disease agent to elicit the response, and some vaccines use dead disease agent to elicit the response. The length of this immune memory varies from just a few years to decades.
Vaccines and Social Responsibility - In addition to helping keep our own children from becoming ill with what are often serious and life-threatening illnesses, vaccines have an impact on society as a whole and smaller groups, groups as small as a classroom of children; they carry with them a helping of social responsibility. Not vaccinating is tempting an outbreak not only in your child, but in those who aren’t vaccinated for various reasons. Perhaps they aren’t vaccinated because they are immigrants and their native country did not routinely vaccinate. Perhaps they are too ill to receive vaccines; patients with HIV/AIDS, some cancers, etc. sometimes cannot safely be given vaccinations. Perhaps they are just too young to have received the vaccine, yet. When a portion of the population is no longer vaccinated, they in turn increase the risk for everyone else who isn’t vaccinated, whether by choice or by circumstance. In 2006, we saw outbreaks of both Measles and Mumps in the United States, polio is on the rise in some parts of the world…with travel and immigration it is bound to find it’s way back to the US sooner or later. Some people refer to this as herd or community immunity.
Are Vaccines Effective? Yes, usually. Vaccines have a very high efficacy rate. Most are effective in more than 98% of those who receive them. But, they do not work for everyone. Some people’s immune system simply don’t respond as expected and immunity is not conferred.
Do Vaccines Make You Sick? No, vaccines cannot cause the disease they are protecting you against. Do people sometimes feel ill after vaccinations, perhaps with redness of the injection site or a fever and headache? Sure, this is normal and generally not something to worry about. These symptoms are not caused by the vaccine itself, but by the immune system’s response to the vaccine. Just like when you get a fever from the flu, it is not the flu virus causing the fever; the fever is a natural response that your body initiates as part of its immune defense. A small number people may experience an allergic reaction to some vaccines; for instance, some vaccines are produced using eggs, so if the person being vaccinated is severely allergic to eggs they should not receive that vaccine. Do people ever get other symtpons from vaccines? Yes, but the vast, vast majority of people experience no adverse reaction, and the diseases vaccines protect you from are almost always worse than any reaction the vaccine may cause.