The Myths of Immunization

FJ Vol 21, No 2
Jan 22-Feb 5/07

We have heard a lot of bad/conflicting things about vaccination, and are not sure whether to vaccinate our children and ourselves. What do you think?

Immunization/vaccination is a hot topic in many circles, and many dangerous myths abound. I like to frame the approach from two perspectives—the population and the individual.

From the population perspective, it is an undisputed fact that immunization is one of the greatest success stories of modern medicine. Childhood immunization has saved millions of lives by eliminating many serious childhood diseases. Because of its success, we often no longer hear about many of these diseases, so it’s easy for parents to become complacent about the need to have their kids fully protected and keeping immunizations up to date. However in recent years, several countries have experienced new outbreaks of diseases everyone thought had disappeared—like diphtheria, German measles and polio. They reappeared because governments relaxed their immunization programs or certain groups in the population refused these immunizations.

It is true that as with any medicine, there are very small risks that problems could occur for someone getting a vaccine. From the individual perspective, many people think that since the risk of getting the disease is remote, they are saving themselves any risk of these potential adverse effects from getting the vaccine. However, this logic relies on the rest of the population to get immunized and decrease the risk of potentially fatal diseases occurring in the population. The higher the number of people who do not immunize themselves or their children means the higher the risk for the whole population. For all the vaccines currently offered in Canada/by Manitoba Health, a person’s chance of being harmed by the infection (and the severity of the illness) is far greater than any chance of being harmed by the vaccine. Vaccines are among the safest medical interventions, and they are subjected to rigorous safety and quality control standards. The individual must consider that once a person contracts the illness in question, the consequences could be disastrous. This is even worse, because the illness was vaccine-preventable. It is extremely important to weigh the right factors and not let overblown fear of an unlikely adverse event prevent protection from a potentially fatal and very real disease.

The vaccines currently recommended for adults and children will protect you/your kids against serious diseases that have not disappeared from the world. If people stop using these vaccines, the diseases will almost certainly become common again, causing many illnesses and deaths. These vaccines are extremely safe and highly effective. If you have any questions or concerns about vaccines, check with your doctor or public health office.

Many people go to the Internet looking for up-to-date information about vaccination. You can find current and trustworthy information on the Internet, but some websites have information that can be misleading—although they have been designed to look scientific and accurate, the information may not be scientifically valid. So remember: anyone can create a website. Only proper research methods guarantee the information is trustworthy. Always check the source of the information you read.

A trustworthy website will:
- Purpose
o …have a clearly stated mission and purpose
o …give credible health information based on solid scientific research
o …give info that includes many points of view. Be careful of sites that support a specific cause, group, or source of funding!
- Sponsors:
o …give the sponsor’s contact information; reputable websites don’t hide their identity
o The website address (URL) can help you learn more about them. If the address ends in:
".edu" = it is a school, college or university
".gc.ca" = Canadian government
".ca" = Canadian-based sites
".gov" = U.S.’ government
".org" = non-profit organizations
".int" = international organizations
".com" = commercial sites
- Supporting Organizations:
o …Be endorsed by a health agency/association you can trust.
o …Give info that covers municipal, regional, national or international concerns, not just the views of one person
o …Indicate if it’s part of a network of partners and identify them
o …Give background info about the sponsors
o …Refer to organizations responsible for maintaining standards
- Site Maintenance:
o …Have experts review the information
o …Post new info on a regular basis; often give the date when the info is posted.
- Authors:
o …clearly state the names of authors, their background and experience in vaccination/immunization. Look for details such as university degrees and professional membership in medical, nursing, scientific or public health associations
o …post work by authors who have published articles in established journals. Beware of articles written by “world-famous researchers,” “well-known scientists,” or “noted experts.”
o …give info based on solid research, not on opinion.
o …give references and links to support its statements
Beware:
- websites’ claims that seem too good or too bad to be true
- claims based on the idea of conspiracy; sites that say it discovered “the hidden truth” about vaccines
- information based on emotion rather than scientific fact. Stories about children who became sick or died are hard to read objectively. Even when pain and sickness occur, be aware that there is no substitute for scientific study.
- Information based on facts that aren’t tested. Professional researchers aren’t afraid to say that further research may be required.
- Websites focused on selling books, newsletters or products.
- Sites that give info “for educational purposes” only but don’t recommend a course of action—If a site is not willing to take responsibility for its advice, why should you?

Recommended websites:
- http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cdc/schedule.html: Manitoba Health’s website gives the routine childhood immunization schedule and links to the publicly-funded vaccines.
- www.immuniza.cpha.ca: Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion
- www.caringforkids.cps.ca: Canadian Paediatric Society
- www.phac-aspc.gc.ca: Public Health Agency of Canada
- www.canadian-health-network.ca: Canadian Health Network
- www.cdc.gov: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
- www.immunizationinfo.org: National Network for Immunization Information (U.S.)
- www.immunize.org: Immunization Action Coalition (U.S.)
- www.childrensvaccine.org: Children’s Vaccine Programs (U.S. and international partners)
- www.who.int/vaccines: World Health Organization

So please remember that your health is foremost in your own hands; health starts at home. Alagaan ninyo ang katawan at kalusugan ninyo! Take care, and mind your health!