There has been an ongoing argument within the past few years regarding whether or not vaccinations are safe. Just recently horror stories have surfaced about young girls going to the doctors office for HPV vaccinations and fainting shortly after, or even parents bringing their babies in for a routine round of shots and then returning home with an extremely sick child. Quite frankly, this is scaring the hell out of people, and we want to know the truth: are vaccines actually beneficial?
Vaccines were once nicknamed “wonders of modern technology”, so why is it that they’re now testing our judgement as to whether or not they’re actually safe? In 1998, a man named Andrew Wakefield claimed to have found a connection between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism. Not only did this claim set off a nation-wide panic, but it dropped immunization rates drastically. Since this claim, more research has gone into the MMR vaccine and whether or not the claim was true. Even though this claim was proven to be just a myth, it just goes to show you that the risk factor is out there. Of course vaccines aren’t risk free. That’s something that is just way too good to be true. These risks vary depending on what the specific vaccine is, but they could include soreness in the area that was injected or, more rarely, seizures.
What a majority of the population doesn’t understand is that no matter how may different vaccines you receive, you still have the risk of obtaining that disease. For instance, there’s the flu shot. Of course it’s still a possibility that you catch the flu after receiving the shot, but your chances are much less likely. This goes for any vaccine. It has been proven that the more people in a population who receive a vaccination, the higher the chances are that the population will be safe. This coined the term “herd immunity.”
One specific myth that parents dangerously seem to be considering nowadays is exposing their children to the disease in order for them to receive the antibodies they need to protect themselves as opposed to getting the actual vaccine. However, this tactic has risky effects. Take chicken pox, for example. If this disease went untreated without a proper vaccine, it could cause major complications such as skin infections like MRSA.
All in all, there will never be a straightforward answer as to whether or not vaccines are 100% safe considering it is an extremely controversial topic. One thing is for sure, though; it’s better to play it on the safe side and receive the vaccine than just sit back and do absolutely nothing. Not only would this benefit you, but it would benefit everyone around you, as well.
Sources
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/17/12myths-and-facts-about-vaccines/