All you should know about vaccines

The problem of people's mistrust of vaccination is one of the top 10 problems that WHO worked on in 2019. According to WHO estimates, vaccination can prevent up to 3 million deaths from infectious diseases every year! But recently, there has been a very large percentage of vaccine refusals, and this has already caused an increase of measles by 30%.

For sure, the topic of vaccination has been overgrown with a bunch of myths for a long time and still remains the subject of disputes between people. To vaccinate or not to do it, is it harmful or not? Whom to listen to, and where is the truth?

History of vaccines

A long time ago, around 1000 in China, people had the idea that an artificially induced weak form of the disease could formulate immunity. At that time, of course, there were no vaccines yet, and people applied "preventive" measures: they inserted pieces of cotton wool soaked in smallpox pus into their ears and inhaled powder from finely crushed scabs of smallpox patients through their nose.

It is believed that vaccines appeared in the 18th century, but only in the 20th century a smallpox vaccination had become so successful.

In the 18th century smallpox raged, taking away numerous lives. English farmers accidentally noticed that cowpox is less contagious to humans than smallpox.Then Edward Jenner created a reliable and safe vaccine based on cowpox, and on May 14, 1796, he inoculated with it the eight-year-old farmer’s son named James Phipps, who later lived to old age.

Vaccine (from the French word vache) - "cow". That is how Louis Pasteur proposed to name all drugs based on the principle of creating artificial immunity.

How do vaccines work?

Vaccines contain weakened particles of a specific antigen and cause an immune response within the body. This triggers the mechanism of immunological memory, when the body acquires the ability to quickly recognize this particular antigen in the future and immediately begins to fight it.

4 myths about vaccination to give up

🔹 People with allergies and chronic diseases do not need to be vaccinated, they have a weakened immune system.

It is the weakened immunity that is the reason that infectious diseases flow severely. Vaccination contributes to the creation of immunological memory, which will subsequently help to effectively resist the virus. If the vaccination is not done, then there is a risk that the infectious disease will aggravate the chronic one, and consequences might be even worse.

🔹 Vaccines are dangerous as they contain mercury.

Some vaccines for adults really contain mercury as a preservative. But in a completely insignificant amount that is completely safe! This amount is even less than what we inhale or eat every day.

🔹 Vaccination causes autism.

This myth was initiated by Andrew Wakefield, however, in the absence of any evidence and presence of gross violations, this statement was refuted by the WHO. His publication in the magazine was soon withdrawn, and he was convicted of manipulating data.

🔹 Natural immunity can be affected by vaccine overload.

Immunity cannot be overloaded with vaccines. In general, natural and acquired immunity do not interfere with each other in any way. Though, as natural immunity, unfortunately, cannot cope with some viruses, there is a need to develop acquired immunity by vaccination.

It turns out that there is no scientific evidence that vaccines are harmful. Of course, it's up to you to get vaccinated or not. But it is definitely worth making your decision based on facts but not on myths.