Vaccines are a fundamental part of healthcare and keep us all safe. Unfortunately, dangerous misinformation can lead to a decline in their uptake, resulting in a deterioration of health for individuals and communities. Learning more can help us all make informed decisions about healthcare.

Some basics about vaccines

Vaccines do not make you sick. Vaccines used in Canada are rigorously tested to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Some vaccines contain weakened copies of the germ, the key word is weakened. Vaccines will not make you sick; they teach your immune system how to protect itself from future infections.

Your immune system can handle multiple vaccines at the same time. Some vaccines, like MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), protect against multiple diseases with a single dose. This saves you or your children from additional injections.

Getting multiple vaccines at once is safe and has been standard medical practice for decades. It is also included in vaccination schedules in Canada and worldwide without any reported issues regarding safety or effectiveness.

Vaccines are safe, but some mild side effects are actually possible, such as pain at the injection site, headache, and low-grade fever. Many medications have side effects, but they improve your health, and vaccines are no different as they protect you and others from getting sick.

Vaccine allergies are extremely rare. One or two cases in a million vaccinations may lead to a serious allergic reaction. That’s 0.0001 percent. Serious reactions happen almost immediately after the vaccine, meaning this will be very close to a trained healthcare provider who knows how to respond and manage that reaction.

High vaccination rates protect people who cannot be vaccinated. Vaccines are most effective when everyone is vaccinated. But not everyone can be. Infants, for example, are too young, while individuals with compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients, cannot be vaccinated either. Fortunately, if a high enough percentage of the community is vaccinated, the spread of diseases like measles to unvaccinated individuals becomes unlikely.

This is herd or community immunity and is achieved when about 95% of the population is vaccinated. When vaccination rates drop, it allows diseases to spread like wildfire among those who are very young or ill and cannot be vaccinated.

Debunking Vaccine Myths

Myth #1: Vaccines can cause disorders like autism

Facts— Vaccines help build your child’s immune system so they can resist harmful diseases. Because children are vaccinated at the same age that autism is often diagnosed, some people mistakenly believe that vaccines and autism are connected, but they are not. Vaccines do not cause autism, and there is no evidence to support that.

Myth #2: Some substances used in vaccines are unsafe

Facts— In Canada, we have extremely strict guidelines for making vaccines. Safety testing is conducted by the Canadian Health's Biological and Genetic Therapies Directorate. Certain substances — such as thimerosal, formaldehyde, and aluminum — are used to kill bacteria and make vaccines as safe and effective as possible.

Myth #3: "Natural" immunity is better than vaccine immunity

Facts— Natural infections from certain diseases can kill you or your child or cause serious harm before your body can develop a strong immune response. Vaccines use harmless or inactive viruses or bacteria to stimulate the body’s natural immune response to provide long-term protection against disease without the risk of getting sick. Vaccination serves as a primer for the immune system, so it is ready if you or your child encounter the “real” disease.

Myth #4: Vaccine-preventable diseases no longer exist in Canada, so there’s no need for me or my child to get vaccinated

Facts- We are fortunate. Our immunization programs have drastically reduced the number of cases and deaths from many serious diseases in Canada. Even if the chances of contracting them in Canada are very low, these diseases still exist in other parts of the world and can find their way here through travel and then infect anyone who is unprotected. Vaccination continues to provide the best protection against these diseases.

Myth #5: Many vaccinated individuals get sick, which proves vaccines don’t work

Facts— Some vaccines, like the annual flu vaccine, cannot prevent all cases of infection but do reduce the severity of illness if infection occurs. So if a vaccinated person gets sick, it will likely be less severe.

Myth #6: A healthy lifestyle and breastfeeding are enough to protect me and my child from infectious diseases

Facts— A healthy lifestyle is important for helping to maintain overall good health. Breastfeeding gives children a great start but it will not protect your child from all specific diseases that can be prevented through vaccination.

In conclusion

Vaccines are safe and effective, and immunization programs in Canada help protect you and your family from vaccine-preventable diseases. Speak to your healthcare provider about any concerns regarding vaccines. Healthcare providers are eager to protect you and your children and will take the time to discuss your concerns and share their knowledge about how vaccines work to build your immune system. A healthy immune system is the key to wellness.

Or book an appointment with+ VaxFacts for a doctor to call you to discuss vaccines and other health issues:

https://www.shn.ca/vaxfacts/

Sources:

https://www.askontariodoctors.ca/vaccinefacts

Or:

https://tinyurl.com/yht2r32h