Vaccinated Children, Protected Children
That, let’s say, is what most people think. That if we get vaccinated, whether as children or adults, we are protecting ourselves from disease, including death. A BBC London article says that immunizing children between six months and two years old would reduce flu in the general population by between 11% and 35%, depending on the type of virus.
He adds that if children aged five years and over are included, it would reduce type A influenza by up to 38%. As well as type B influenza in up to 69%. However, this same article shows that in certain parts of the United States, such as Manhattan, New York, and in Europe, there are communities whose members, despite being from the wealthy classes, have failed to vaccinate their children. And they do this because they believe in certain myths.
Vaccine Myths
Let’s go to the beginning. What is a vaccine? According to the WHO, a vaccine is understood as any preparation intended to generate immunity against a disease by stimulating the production of antibodies.
This preparation can be, for example, a suspension of dead or attenuated microorganisms. Or even products or derivatives of micro-organisms. The most common method of administering vaccines is injection. Despite this, there are some that are given with a nasal spray or by mouth.
Although supposedly in the 21st century most of the planet’s inhabitants should be vaccinated, many do not vaccinate their children. And the reason is not even lack of money, but lack of information. There are those who believe that better hygiene and sanitation will make diseases disappear ; so that vaccines are not necessary.
WHO responds through an article that this is false. The reason is this: the diseases for which we have vaccines would reappear if vaccination programs were stopped. While better hygiene, hand washing and clean water help protect people from infectious diseases, many infections can spread regardless of the hygiene we maintain.
Vaccination is protection
If people were not being vaccinated, some diseases that had become uncommon, such as polio and measles, would quickly reappear. It has also become widespread in many communities that vaccines carry some harmful and long-term side effects that are not yet known. Furthermore, they consider that vaccination can be deadly. This theory is absolutely false, it reiterates the organization from which we extract several arguments.
Vaccines are very safe, according to the World Health Organization. Most reactions are usually mild and temporary, for example an sore arm or mild fever. Serious health disorders, which are extremely rare, are objects of monitoring and research. You are more likely to be seriously upset by a disease that can be prevented by vaccination than by a vaccine.
In the case of polio, the disease can cause paralysis; measles can cause encephalitis and blindness; and some diseases that can be prevented through vaccination can even be fatal.
While just a single case of serious illness or death from vaccines is a lot, the benefits of vaccination largely outweigh the risk, as without vaccines many illnesses and deaths would occur.
“It is estimated that through immunization 2.5 million child deaths are prevented each year.”
-World Health Organization (WHO) –
Autism and vaccines
For some years, the false belief that vaccines cause autism has been spread. As far as the WHO can determine, the 1998 study that raised concerns about a possible link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, on the one hand, and autism, on the other, contained serious irregularities, so that the publication made was withdrawn.
Unfortunately, the disclosure aroused fears that led to a decrease in immunization rates and subsequent outbreaks of these diseases . However, there is no scientific evidence of a relationship between this vaccine and autism or autistic disorders.
