Questions about vaccine myths and facts circulate the Internet. Many parents advocate children vaccination, while there are those who would choose their children to be unvaccinated. The fear that is caused by common vaccine myths often leaves a lot of children unprotected from the life-threatening effects of diseases which vaccination was intended to combat. Better have a look at the vaccine myths debunked by health experts below.
Vaccine Myth 1: "Vaccination causes autism."
If you're a panicky parent, you will be alarmed when you hear that vaccination can lead to autism. However, Public Health has debunked this. It has mentioned that none has realistically found a link between a vaccine and autism.
Vaccine Myth 2: "It isn't safe."
You can often hear many parents participating in the never-ending debate as to whether or not vaccines are safe. According to Parents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lets each vaccine undergo stringent testing before approving it for public consumption. Although this process will not negate possible vaccination side effects such as fever or rash on injected area, it gives the American public the assurance that these vaccines are safe.
Vaccine Myth 3: "It's too many vaccines for baby's immunity."
As to who started this myth, no one knows. There are parents who refuse children vaccination because they believe that the immune system of the baby or the child could not handle too many vaccines. However, according to Dr. Rupp, babies have the ability to create antibodies for up to 100,000 vaccines in a single instance.
Vaccine Myth 4: "Acquiring natural immunity is better than vaccine-derived immunity."
While opting for developing natural immunity is laudable, it isn't always the case in all types of diseases. Take measles for instance. Those who develop an allergic reaction to MMR is less than one in a million, while the risk of dying from measles symptoms has a ratio of 1 is to 500.
Vaccine Myth 5: "Vaccines infect the child with the disease itself."
This is totally untrue. Vaccination can cause some disease-like symptoms, but it does not infect the child. The appearance of symptoms denotes the body's immune system's reaction to the vaccine, which is in fact a good thing.
These five vaccine myths and facts can guide you in your decision whether to have your child vaccinated or not. Remember, it is only you who can make the decision for your child. So better choose the right one. If you know of other common vaccine myths not included here, please feel free to write them below.
