Routine vaccination myths
Erroneous statement # 1: Better to get sick and develop natural immunity
What really is: If you get sick, the immune system will certainly form. But it can be very expensive due to the high risk of complications: paralysis – from polio, heart damage – from diphtheria, pneumonia and brain damage – from measles and chickenpox. The risk of complications from an infectious disease is much higher than the risk of adverse reactions after vaccination.
- Erroneous statement # 2: Vaccines cause autism
What actually: This is one of the most common vaccination myths. Its origins date back to 1998, when physician Andrew Wakefield published an article on the link between measles, rubella, mumps vaccine and autism. But later it turned out that all the facts given in the publication were falsified. Further research, after publication, conducted by reputable organizations and institutions (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the UK National Academy of Sciences Medical Institute and the British National Health Service), refuted the connection between the vaccine and the onset of autism. More than a dozen more studies and their results disprove the link between vaccinations and the development of autism.
- Erroneous statement # 3: Vaccinations are contraindicated in people with chronic diseases.
What actually: The list of absolute contraindications (when there is a high risk of getting a negative reaction from the body, the potential benefit from the vaccine is higher) before vaccination is not so big. First of all, it is a state of acute illness before the onset of recovery. At the same time, people with chronic diseases should be vaccinated first. They are more vulnerable to infections, have a more severe course of the disease and are more likely to get complications from the previous illness.
- Erroneous statement # 4: You have to wait up to 3 years to vaccinate a child (so that the body gets stronger)
What actually: The child must be vaccinated in accordance with the National Vaccination Schedule. It determines the optimal administration of vaccines (from the first days of life) to effectively protect the child from infectious diseases. Therefore, it is extremely important that the child receives their vaccinations on time. If for some reason you missed a vaccination, check with your pediatrician or family doctor about how the missed vaccines are appropriate.
- Erroneous statement # 5: Several vaccines administered at the same time “overload the immune system”, weaken the body
What actually: Natural infection can weaken the body, because infectious diseases cause several times higher load on the immune system than vaccination. The viruses contained in vaccines are significantly weakened and cannot overload the immune system. Even if vaccines against 10 infectious diseases are administered at the same time, only 0.1% of the immune system is activated. Several vaccines cannot be administered on the same day! True, vaccinations should be done in different parts of the body: for example, in the right and left shoulder, and for babies – in the right and left thigh. Vaccinations in the buttock are not done at all! Multi-component vaccines can be used. This is a normal world practice. It allows you to reduce the number of visits to the doctor, and therefore the level of stress for the child and parents.
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