21/10/2016 WHO|Whataresomeofthemythsandfactsaboutvaccination?

Whataresomeofthemythsandfacts
aboutvaccination?
OnlineQ&A
March2016

Q:Whataresomeofthemythsandfactsabout
vaccination?
A:Myth1:Betterhygieneandsanitationwillmakediseases
disappearvaccinesarenotnecessary.FALSE
Fact1:Thediseaseswecanvaccinateagainstwillreturnifwestop
vaccinationprogrammes.Whilebetterhygiene,handwashingandclean
waterhelpprotectpeoplefrominfectiousdiseases,manyinfectionscan
spreadregardlessofhowcleanweare.Ifpeoplearenotvaccinated,
diseasesthathavebecomeuncommon,suchaspolioandmeasles,will
quicklyreappear.

Myth2:Vaccineshaveseveraldamagingandlongtermsideeffects
thatareyetunknown.Vaccinationcanevenbefatal.FALSE
Fact2:Vaccinesareverysafe.Mostvaccinereactionsareusually
minorandtemporary,suchasasorearmormildfever.Serioushealth
eventsareextremelyrareandarecarefullymonitoredandinvestigated.
Youarefarmorelikelytobeseriouslyinjuredbyavaccinepreventable
diseasethanbyavaccine.Forexample,inthecaseofpolio,the
diseasecancauseparalysis,measlescancauseencephalitisand
blindness,andsomevaccinepreventablediseasescanevenresultin
death.Whileanyseriousinjuryordeathcausedbyvaccinesisonetoo
many,thebenefitsofvaccinationgreatlyoutweightherisk,andmany
moreinjuriesanddeathswouldoccurwithoutvaccines.

Myth3:Thecombinedvaccineagainstdiphtheria,tetanusand
pertussis(whoopingcough)andthevaccineagainstpoliomyelitis
causesuddeninfantdeathsyndrome.FALSE
Fact3:Thereisnocausallinkbetweentheadministeringofthe
vaccinesandsuddeninfantdeath,however,thesevaccinesare
administeredatatimewhenbabiescansuffersuddeninfantdeath
syndrome(SIDS).Inotherwords,theSIDSdeathsarecoincidentalto
vaccinationandwouldhaveoccurredevenifnovaccinationshadbeen
given.Itisimportanttorememberthatthesefourdiseasesarelife
threateningandbabieswhoarenotvaccinatedagainstthemareat
seriousriskofdeathorseriousdisability.

Myth4:Vaccinepreventablediseasesarealmosteradicatedinmy
country,sothereisnoreasontobevaccinated.FALSE
Fact4:Althoughvaccinepreventablediseaseshavebecome
uncommoninmanycountries,theinfectiousagentsthatcausethem
continuetocirculateinsomepartsoftheworld.Inahighlyinter
connectedworld,theseagentscancrossgeographicalbordersand
infectanyonewhoisnotprotected.InwesternEurope,forexample,
measlesoutbreakshaveoccurredinunvaccinatedpopulationsin
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21/10/2016 WHO|Whataresomeofthemythsandfactsaboutvaccination?

Austria,Belgium,Denmark,France,Germany,Italy,Spain,Switzerland
andtheUnitedKingdomsince2005.Sotwokeyreasonstoget
vaccinatedaretoprotectourselvesandtoprotectthosearoundus.
Successfulvaccinationprogrammes,likesuccessfulsocieties,depend
onthecooperationofeveryindividualtoensurethegoodofall.We
shouldnotrelyonpeoplearoundustostopthespreadofdiseasewe,
too,mustdowhatwecan.

Myth5:Vaccinepreventablechildhoodillnessesarejustan
unfortunatefactoflife.FALSE
Fact5:Vaccinepreventablediseasesdonothavetobefactsoflife.
Illnessessuchasmeasles,mumpsandrubellaareseriousandcanlead
toseverecomplicationsinbothchildrenandadults,including
pneumonia,encephalitis,blindness,diarrhoea,earinfections,congenital
rubellasyndrome(ifawomanbecomesinfectedwithrubellainearly
pregnancy),anddeath.Allthesediseasesandsufferingcanbe
preventedwithvaccines.Failuretovaccinateagainstthesediseases
leaveschildrenunnecessarilyvulnerable.

Myth6:Givingachildmorethanonevaccineatatimecanincrease
theriskofharmfulsideeffects,whichcanoverloadthechilds
immunesystem.FALSE
Fact6:Scientificevidenceshowsthatgivingseveralvaccinesatthe
sametimehasnoadverseeffectonachildsimmunesystem.Children
areexposedtoseveralhundredforeignsubstancesthattriggeran
immuneresponseeveryday.Thesimpleactofeatingfoodintroduces
newantigensintothebody,andnumerousbacterialiveinthemouthand
nose.Achildisexposedtofarmoreantigensfromacommoncoldor
sorethroatthantheyarefromvaccines.Keyadvantagesofhaving
severalvaccinesatonceisfewerclinicvisits,whichsavestimeand
money,andchildrenaremorelikelytocompletetherecommended
vaccinationsonschedule.Also,whenitispossibletohaveacombined
vaccination,e.g.formeasles,mumpsandrubella,thatmeansfewer
injections.

Myth7:Influenzaisjustanuisance,andthevaccineisntvery
effective.FALSE
Fact7:Influenzaismuchmorethananuisance.Itisaseriousdisease
thatkills300000500000peopleworldwideeveryyear.Pregnant
women,smallchildren,elderlypeoplewithpoorhealthandanyonewith
achroniccondition,likeasthmaorheartdisease,areathigherriskfor
severeinfectionanddeath.Vaccinatingpregnantwomenhastheadded
benefitofprotectingtheirnewborns(thereiscurrentlynovaccinefor
babiesundersixmonths).Mostofinfluenzavaccinesofferimmunityto
thethreemostprevalentstrainscirculatinginanygivenseason.Itisthe
bestwaytoreduceyourchancesofseverefluandofspreadingitto
others.Avoidingtheflumeansavoidingextramedicalcarecostsand
lostincomefrommissingdaysofworkorschool.

Myth8:Itisbettertobeimmunizedthroughdiseasethanthrough
vaccines.FALSE
Fact8:Vaccinesinteractwiththeimmunesystemtoproducean
immuneresponsesimilartothatproducedbythenaturalinfection,but
theydonotcausethediseaseorputtheimmunizedpersonatriskofits
potentialcomplications.Incontrast,thepricepaidforgettingimmunity
throughnaturalinfectionmightbementalretardationfromHaemophilus

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21/10/2016 WHO|Whataresomeofthemythsandfactsaboutvaccination?

influenzaetypeb(Hib),birthdefectsfromrubella,livercancerfrom
hepatitisBvirus,ordeathfrommeasles.

Myth9:Vaccinescontainmercurywhichisdangerous.FALSE
Fact9:Thiomersalisanorganic,mercurycontainingcompoundadded
tosomevaccinesasapreservative.Itisthemostwidelyused
preservativeforvaccinesthatareprovidedinmultidosevials.Thereis
noevidencetosuggestthattheamountofthiomersalusedinvaccines
posesahealthrisk.

Myth10:VaccinescauseautismFALSE
Fact10:The1998studywhichraisedconcernsaboutapossiblelink
betweenmeaslesmumpsrubella(MMR)vaccineandautismwaslater
foundtobeseriouslyflawed,andthepaperhasbeenretractedbythe
journalthatpublishedit.Unfortunately,itspublicationsetoffapanicthat
ledtodroppingimmunizationrates,andsubsequentoutbreaksofthese
diseases.ThereisnoevidenceofalinkbetweenMMRvaccineand
autismorautisticdisorders.

Relatedlinks

Moreonimmunization
DecadeofVaccinesGlobalVaccineActionPlan20112020
WHO'sworkonimmunization,vaccinesandbiologicals

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