Vaccines are considered the best defense against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. They are also some of the safest medical products available, at least according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. However, despite the overwhelming amount of official websites from both government organizations such as the World Health Organization and the CDC, and non-government organizations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF that state vaccines keep people safe and healthy, there are also numerous sources (with highly questionable credibility) that claim vaccines are unsafe, unnatural, and unnecessary.
For example, one major myth surrounding vaccines is that they cause autism. This belief was brought about thanks to a widely discredited study in 1998 that claimed to link the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine to autism. The study was labelled an “elaborate fraud,” and it was discovered that the original researcher who conducted the study, Andrew Wakefield, had been paid by a law firm that was looking to sue a vaccine manufacturer. Since then, numerous studies have shown there is no link between vaccines and the onset of autism.
Fortunately, a majority of Americans believe vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella are safe according to a survey conducted in 2015 by the Pew Research Center. However, misinformation can still be a dangerous thing, and getting reliable information from official sources such as the Center for Disease Control, World Health Organization, or anyone else that actually works in a health occupation would be much more helpful than some random health blogs.
According to school nurse Mrs. Stanard, vaccines are “very important because they build antibodies against a disease so the next time you get exposed to it in a bigger dose, you don’t get the disease.” Additionally, while there are alternatives to vaccines such as strictly avoiding exposure to disease, which a common anti-vaccine argument claims is possible due to such a high immunity rate (thanks to vaccines), Stanard says “you can’t always do that because only some diseases are more controllable than others, and it is inevitable you get exposed to certain things because we live in a highly mobile and populated world.” Adding onto that, the CDC does warn that due to the increase in international travel, even if a disease is not a threat in one country, it may be common in another, and so if someone were to carry a disease abroad, an unvaccinated individual will be at a greater risk of exposure. Stanard also has a son that recently travelled to Japan and received vaccines specific to travelling there based on recommendation.
Because of vaccines, numerous diseases have been eradicated or nearly eradicated, saving countless lives. However, due to misinformation and the proliferation of various myths and conspiracy theories, vaccines have become controversial leading some to refuse to vaccinate, placing themselves and others at risk of contracting easily preventable diseases. However, if one examines the reality of what vaccines do, they are extremely important and beneficial to the health of the individual and the people around them.