Vaccinations, and immunizations contribute greatly in debates today. Many people are for vaccinations, believing that vaccines will help them and the community. On the other hand, people holding different beliefs think that there are too many risks associated with vaccinations. Or that vaccines cause illness and other abnormalities. Although I respect all opinions and beliefs in the matter, I think it's time to get informed with facts and fun!

First things first, vaccines in the medical field today would not be used if they were not deemed safe by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services, a vaccine is a product that produces immunity from a particular disease, and is administered via needle injections, mouth, or aerosol. A vaccination is the injection of a killed or weakened organism that produces immunity in the body against that organism, and an immunization is the process in which a person becomes protected from a specific disease.

Secondly, individuals who are concerned about the safety of vaccines have begun to promote natural immunity over vaccinations. The only way to acquire this natural immunity, however, is through infection with the disease in question. This means that you must get sick (sometimes severely) and fully recover to develop resistance. Vaccinations, on the other hand, cause a natural immune response in the body without causing illness. Essentially, we trick our bodies into thinking we’ve already had the disease.

Some risks of natural immunity:

1. After infection with varicella (chickenpox), development of severe pneumonia or encephalitis.

2. Death associated with meningococcal meningitis even with antibiotic treatment. Some who survive lose extremities, become deaf, have problems with their nervous systems, or suffer seizures or strokes.

3. Rubella infection during pregnancy can cause birth defects including deafness, cataracts, heart defects, intellectual and developmental disability, and liver and spleen damage.

4. Most newborns and 50% of children who are infected with hepatitis B develop chronic hepatitis, which damages the liver and may lead to cancer or cirrhosis.

However, it is important to disclose that vaccines are not always 100% effective. In the case of a disease outbreak, several vaccinated people could become infected, but would likely acquire a less serious form of illness compared to those who are not vaccinated.

Some risks of vaccinations:

1. Brain Inflammation

2.Chronic Nervous System Dysfunction

3. Acute and Chronic Arthritis

4. Death (smallpox, polio and measles vaccine)

5. Chronic brain and immune system damage

In all, vaccinations reduce the spread of disease and protect those who are not vaccinated, cannot be vaccinated, have a weakened immune system, or are pregnant. These individuals are at an increased risk for complications associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. They solely rely on vaccinated members of the community to guard them from infection. When people choose not to get vaccinated, they increase the risk of infecting those around them. Why should we allow our friends and loved ones to suffer from diseases that can simply be prevented?

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines & Immunizations: Vaccine Testing and the Approval Process. 2015. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/basics/test-approve.html.

Colorado Children's Immunization Coalition. Fact or Fiction: Natural Immunity. 2017. http://www.immunizeforgood.com/fact-or-fiction/natural-immunity.

National Vaccine Information Center. Vaccines? Know the Risks and Failures. 2017. http://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Vaccinations--Know-the-risks-and-failures-.aspx.