Half knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge; and the vaccination drive has perhaps become a victim of its own success. Here’s why rejecting immunization is dangerous for your child and your community –

The immunization drive has been so successful and effective in controlling a wide range of mutilating and potentially life-threatening contagious diseases – that it has been widely acknowledged as one of the top ten medical achievements of the 20th century. Parents of our generation have never seen the crippling effect of Polio, the scourge of Small Pox or the terrifying lockjaw and seizures caused by Tetanus. Parents of the previous generation have forgotten how dangerous these illnesses used to be. However, with more and more people rejecting vaccines, several conditions like Measles, Polio and Whooping Cough, are making a comeback even in developed nations like the United States. The world had come so close to permanently eliminating these diseases at the turn of the century. Sadly, in less than two decades, it looks like the medical community will once again have to push the boulder to the top of the mountain, so to speak.

Fear-mongering about vaccinations and their supposed lack of safety is not a new phenomenon. Most people tend to react with fear, resistance and suspicion when faced with anything that is new and unfamiliar. When Edward Jennar introduced the small pox vaccine in 1802, the rumour mills insisted that the vaccine would turn you into a cow! The objections could be based on sanitary, religious, political, philosophical or scientific grounds. Rallies have been organized, documentaries have been made and lawsuits have been filed, going up to the Supreme Court.
But before understanding the history and the psychology behind the anti-vaccination movement, let us first review the various reasons why every doctor of every speciality strongly recommends immunization.

Immunizations can literally save lives. It can save you from death and disability. It is safe and effective and this has been proven through decades of study and data. Vaccines undergo years of research, testing and modification before they are approved for clinical use. The testing and data collection never end.

They are very affordable, especially if you consider the cost of treating a deadly infection, along with valuable time lost at school or work.

Getting your child vaccinated not only protects your child, but protects the community at large; as your child will not be responsible for endangering the health of another child. Over 90-95% of the population must be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks. Infections like Measles and Rubella are so contagious that a single ill child can infect 12-15 children and this can very quickly trigger an outbreak. It protects the truly vulnerable like infants, pregnant women and children suffering from Leukemia and AIDS, who cannot take vaccines due to their badly compromised immune system.
Vaccinations can protect future generations as well. For instance, vaccinating boys against Mumps can protect them from infertility and vaccinating girls against Rubella can protect their future children from blindness, deafness and cardiac abnormalities.

So why are so many parents refusing to get their child vaccinated?

In Jennar’s time, people felt that infecting their children with the lymph of a cowpox blister by making a nick in the skin is unsanitary, unnatural, cruel and unchristian. People resented the government making vaccines mandatory in the interest of public health. They believe it infringes on personal liberties and their right to control their bodies as well as those of their kids. In some states, the government slapped vaccine refusers with penalties, their children were denied school admissions and insurance companies refused to provide coverage to unvaccinated individuals.

Some parents refuse vaccination because they believe that diseases like Measles and Whooping Cough are almost unheard of, and therefore their child will remain protected by herd immunity, even without vaccination. However, herd immunity only works if over 95% of the population has been vaccinated. This means that herd immunity only works when nearly all children are vaccinated. This will protect kids who are on Chemotherapy or suffer from AIDs. These children are at high risk of contracting any kind of infection, but cannot take vaccines due to their compromised immune system. In several pockets of USA where many parents have refused vaccines, outbreaks of Measles and Whooping Cough have been reported after several decades. Besides, herd immunity does not work against infections like Tetanus, which are contracted through infected wounds and are not passed on from person to person.
Parents think they will get their kids vaccinated when and if an outbreak is declared. This does not always work. Diseases like Measles are so contagious that your child might contract it from a friend even before the friend develops the actual symptoms! It takes 2-3 weeks to develop immunity after a vaccine shot, and your child is at risk of contracting an infection in that time. Also, most vaccinations require multiple doses to develop full immunity, so one random shot might prove to be worthless.

The biggest blow to the immunization drive was delivered by a (now) disreputed gastroenterologist named Andrew Wakefield. In 1998, he published a study in a leading medical journal named Lancet, on how the Measles vaccine was causing Autism in children. This is perhaps one of the most hideous and damaging medical hoaxes of all time. Autism is a poorly understood ailment caused by multiple known and unknown factors. The media caught hold of this study and various documentaries were made with parents of autistic children speaking with anguish and vexation. This study is now discredited on various counts. Wakefield based his conclusion on a sample size of 12 children, which is a very small number for any credible scientific study. 5 of the 12 children were subsequently found to have pre-existing conditions. On further investigation, it was found that Wakefield had accepted a large sum of money by anti-vaccination groups who paid him to find a link between vaccinations and neurological conditions. Investigations revealed that Wakefield had falsified and manufactured data to achieve a biased conclusion. Even Wakefield refused to elaborate his “research” on a larger sample size of patients to try and replicate his initial findings. He was eventually stripped off his medical licence in 2010. The Lancet formally retracted the paper in the same year. Most importantly, numerous large-scale studies and research projects have subsequently confirmed that there is NO evidence to connect MMR and DPT vaccinations to Autism and other neurological conditions. Even UK’s National Autistic Society issued a statement to this effect, and encouraged parents to continue vaccinating their children.

There has also been a lot of concern about the toxic nature of some of the preservatives in vaccines like Thimerosal. This Mercury derivative was allegedly linked to various neurological conditions. Even though no concrete evidence was ever found linking the two, most vaccines now do not contain this preservative. Cases of Autism continue to rise even though Thimerosal is no longer used in childhood vaccinations since 1999.

There are still a lot of conspiracy theories that allege that mandatory vaccinations are a result of an unholy nexus between the Government and Pharma companies, to profiteer by creating a panic about infectious diseases “that are’nt so bad anyway”. The truth is that, several companies stopped manufacture of the DPT vaccine after Wakefield’s damaging study. The profit margin on vaccines is lower than that on drugs. And the cost of treatment far exceeds the cost of immunization. Yes, Pharmaceutical companies DO indeed work for profits. But if they were only concerned about the financial bottom line, they would focus more on keeping diseases active to produce more and more medicine, rather than vaccines.

There have also been vaccine refusals on religious grounds. In several Islamic nations, rumours began to spread that vaccinations are a conspiracy of the United States and United Nations. It was claimed that these medications are designed to cause impotence and diarrhoea, specifically amongst Muslims, and were meant to sterilize the believers and reduce their population. Unfortunately, the poorest and most downtrodden have been worst hit by this stance, resulting in the resurgence of Polio in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. People travelling to and from these countries are likely to contract illnesses and carry them across international borders.

Some opposed vaccines as the preservatives might include Gelatin, which is derived from pork. The Rubella vaccine is manufactured from cell lines derived from aborted foetuses. This was misconstrued to mean that actual foetal parts were used to create vaccines. However, several religious leaders have advised that gelatin taken in medicine via non-oral route is not against religious tenets, and that in matters of life and death, even religious texts allow exemptions.

The HPV vaccine was created with the intention of preventing cervical cancer. However, many worried that the vaccine would encourage young women to turn promiscuous as it protects against certain strains of genital warts.
Some parents are too paralysed by fear and confusion to take a decision. Some believe that their children are protected as long as they’re breast-fed and therefore, vaccinations can be delayed. Some believe that general hygiene and good diet can protect against disease. And if a child does contract an ailment despite that, then modern medicine is now well-equipped to treat such an infection. They feel that it is better to acquire an infection and develop immunity to it in the “natural” way, rather than using vaccines which may not provide 100% protection anyway. All of the above views are either flawed or factually incorrect. Many parents are shocked and alarmed at the idea of injecting infants with multiple vaccinations in a single shot. They feared it would overwhelm their child’s immune system. However, various studies over several decades have proven that vaccines are safe even in preterm infants.
No medication is 100% safe and that is true for vaccinations as well. However, given their tremendous efficacy, the incidence of side effects is negligible. There is still no effective medication for infections like Polio, Tetanus or Hepatitis. So when in doubt, BELIEVE IN THE SCIENCE.