Vaccinations - Facts vs Myth

Vaccinations: The REAL Deal

The rumors, the latest hype, the well intentioned naturalist. Currently, what to believe when it comes to vaccinating your children is a subject for heated debate in social media. The important thing is that YOU know the facts. This article will explore facts vs. myths and what you need to know and how you can be confident in your decision.

Fact 1 : Vaccines protect children by working with their body’s natural defenses to help them safely develop immunity to some serious diseases.

·Vaccines help your body create antibodies to an infection by “imitating” the infection through vaccination. You do not get sick from this and in fact, this helps build up your immune protection.

Fact 2: YES, vaccines may cause side effects (like any medication), but these are often mild and in the form of redness, itching, or slight swelling. Not everyone has a reaction.

·Due to the decrease in vaccination for preventable diseases, some diseases are resurfacing. Symptoms from the actual disease are always more serious, and can be fatal. (More blogs to come on these diseases and their symptoms: Measles, Whooping Cough, Mumps, Tetanus and Human Papilloma Virus.)

Fact 3: Safety monitoring begins with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who ensures the safety, effectiveness, and availability of vaccines for the United States. Does it really make sense to trust your child’s health to the latest celebrity with no scientific training over the FDA – a government agency staffed with scientific professionals held to the highest research standards?

Fact 4 : Much research has been conducted (and continues to be conducted) on the link between autism and vaccinations. The two studies by Andrew Wakefield (he has since lost his medical license) stating that vaccines cause autism have been shown to be fraudulent efforts to enrich himself. Scientific evidence continues to support that vaccinations do NOT cause autism and save lives through the prevention of life threatening diseases.

Fact 5 : Well documented medical facts demonstrate that spreading out or delaying the timing of a child’s vaccinations has no benefit as there is no risk involved in current vaccination practices.

If we stop vaccination, deadly diseases will return.

This is not a suggestion, this is a fact. Vaccines aren’t just protecting you, they are protecting the infant that isn’t old enough to receive that specific vaccination, the grandmother with a chronic condition, the pregnant women who are high risk, and the children who will one day lead our nation.

Vaccines matter - they save lives!