Top 10 anti-vaccine lies and the truth about each

People who reject vaccines for preventable and deadly diseases cause a new and dangerous wave of misinformation. This leads to a reduction in vaccination rates, resulting in epidemics of diseases such as measles throughout the country. We must fight this small but incredibly noisy minority, and use scientific objectivity to prevent them from lowering vaccination rates even lower.

Here are some of the most common arguments against vaccines and a brief discussion of each, citing scientific studies to support.

1. Vaccines cause autism

It may be the most powerful anti-vaccine rhetoric weapon, despite the fact that the 1998 study, which claimed to show an association between measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, was retracted, discredited and fraudulent . As a result of his professional misconduct, Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor who conducted the study, has been seen to ban the practice of medicine in the United Kingdom.

Numerous studies done around the world have shown that there was no causal link between vaccines and autism, but the emotion and fear surrounding it. Autism allow the anti-vaccine community to keep this myth alive.

TL; DR: There is no evidence suggesting that vaccines cause autism.

2. Do your research

Many vaccine critics base their views on the "research" they have done. The problem here is that research can be carried out with limited scientific understanding, a lack of objective or critical thinking, using weak or false sources and in order to justify a preventive conclusion.

The internet is bursting with compelling pseudo-scientific information, with a precise degree of accuracy or inaccuracy, for every imaginable topic. When the vast majority of the global medical community comes to the conclusion that vaccines are both safe and effective, any "research" that challenges this conclusion must provide a large amount of relevant and objective scientific evidence.

TL; DR: Everyone can make a website. Relevant knowledge and experience is important. Ask for objective evidence.

3. Vaccines contain mercury, aluminum and antifreeze

Opponents of the vaccine continually avoid scientific specificity regarding the details of vaccine ingredients, such as safety or proven dosage, to scare parents of vague references to scary ingredients, such as mercury, Aluminum and antifreeze. Some influenza vaccines contain ethylmercury, called thimerosal, which acts as a preservative and is distinguished from methylmercury found in fish.

A negligible amount of aluminum is sometimes used to enhance the effectiveness of the immune system response and the amount of aluminum contained in the vaccines does not even result in any noticeable increase in the amount of base aluminum found in the infant's blood, even if measured immediately thereafter. the vaccine is administered. Finally, to the statement that vaccines contain antifreeze: the antifreeze is ethylene glycol, and the vaccines contain polyethylene glycol.

TL; DR: The specific ingredient and dosage are of crucial importance. We can drink ethanol, but methanol is toxic. An ounce of ethanol is drinkable, but a gallon can kill you. The presence of a specific substance is much less important than the context of its use.

4. You decide for your children and I will decide for mine

This attitude highlights an ignorant attitude towards the science of vaccination. First, vaccines are not 100% effective. Since vaccines use weakened or killed versions of the bacteria or the virus, some people do not develop complete immunity. This means that vaccination does not guarantee protection.

Second, not all people can be vaccinated for medical reasons such as pregnancy, age, or a compromised immune system. This means that, despite some immunization coverage, vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals may be at risk. This is why the concept of collective immunity is so important because a sufficiently vaccinated population provides protection to those who can not be vaccinated for a valid medical reason.

TL; DR: Being vaccinated as an individual is not enough, and the decision not to vaccinate affects others.

5. They have not done enough research on vaccines or combination vaccines

Despite the obvious hypocrisy that opponents of vaccines consider their own nonscientific research valid while deeming scientifically sound research invalid, many argue that there has not been enough research to prove that the vaccines are safe. However, the reality is that vaccines are one of the most studied medical inventions in human history. Millions of children around the world have not only demonstrated the safety and efficacy of vaccines, but they have also been the subject of extensive research and testing, and a post-study study has been conducted to assess their efficacy and efficacy. security.

TL; DR: Vaccines and combination vaccines have been the subject of extensive research and have been shown to be extremely safe.

6. Vaccine manufacturers admit the risks of side effects

Each drug has possible side effects, as well as the risk of triggering an allergic reaction. Statistically, the serious side effects of vaccines are extremely rare: about 0.000001% of people have severe reactions.

With millions of children vaccinated in the United States and billions around the world, consulting these very rare and statistically rare cases from the point of view of the Internet and social media suggests that "injuries caused by the vaccine "are common. Although this is undeniably horrible for people who have severe and definitely traumatic reactions for their parents and their families, basing vaccine rejection on 0.000001% of cases is purely unscientific.

Diseases like measles and polio threaten 100% of a person's health and even life. This is not the case for vaccines designed to prevent these diseases. If you make a calculation of the risk, it is obviously on the side of the vaccines rather than run the risk of contracting the diseases that they could prevent.

TL; DR: The real risk of vaccine-preventable diseases far outweighs the risks presented by the vaccines themselves.

7. The CDC and Big Pharma lie to you for money

The views of the US Centers for Disease Control largely coincide with those of medical institutions around the world, which means that a global conspiracy must be put in place to overcome the deepest political divisions in order to survive. skeptical about CDC's vaccine recommendations. Vaccines are also much cheaper and mean far less pain than treating the diseases they protect.

The story is full of revolutionary products that have both improved our quality of life and enriched their inventors. Why are profitability and efficiency mutually exclusive? Ironically, those who are wary of Big Pharma to earn money from vaccines do not have the same disdain for those who profit from the mistrust of the medical sector or fear of vaccines.

TL; DR: The CDC shares its main opinions with the medical community of the rest of the world and making profits does not mean that the product or service is corrupt or fraudulent.

8. Do you have children? Is your child injured in the vaccine? I love my children and I chose what suited them best

This is an example of emotional manipulation, using basic human psychology. When discussing a topic based on scientific facts, parental status is irrelevant. Can men have opinions about the science of ovarian cancer? Can women have opinions on the science of testicular cancer? The statement that the opinion on vaccines is valid only if you are a parent is absurd.

Second, by claiming that after careful research, they made these choices because of their love for their child, those who argue this argument implicitly imply that those who do not reach the same conclusion do not share the same love for their children. This is clearly illogical, but is an attempt to divert the debate from factual objectivity to emotional subjectivity, where two ideologies compete to be "the most loving".

TL; DR: If I made to have children, would that change your opinion? Do not use your love for your children, or if I have children, to avoid honest criticism.

9. Why do we even need vaccines?

Measles alone killed 2.6 million people worldwide in 1980, which was reduced to 73,000 in 2014 because of global vaccination programs. Before the introduction of the measles vaccine, almost every child in the United States had caught measles, with about 3 to 4 million infections every year. With an annual rate of 400 to 500 deaths, 48,000 hospitalizations and 1,000 cases of encephalitis before vaccination in the United States, about 0,0002% of people who have caught measles have died.

People were 167 times more likely to die from measles before vaccination than to suffer serious reactions to the vaccine today. However, for vaccine opponents, a probability of 0.001% per cent of severe reactions is too high to warrant vaccination, while a probability of death of 0.0002 percent is too low to warrant vaccination. This clearly has no mathematical meaning.

TL; DR: Vaccines save millions of lives.

10. US recommends more vaccines than other countries

This is obviously wrong. The World Health Organization has shown that many countries have a vaccination program almost identical to that of the United States.

TL; DR: No, they do not do it.

Yes, parents should question the science of vaccines to make the right decision for their children. However, it is important that these decisions are made objectively, that valid research is respected and in a debate free of misinformation, emotional manipulation and lies.

Debating with a vaccine critic can look like a game of logic – when one reasoning is debunked, another appears. However, it's a game that we must keep playing. Otherwise, we risk falling asleep to the medical advances that have saved the lives of previous generations and returning to a time when preventable fatal diseases are a more common reality, instead of a resigned medical horror on the pages of history.