With everyone saying different things about vaccines, it can be hard to tell what’s true and what isn’t. To help your decision on vaccinating your child, you should take a look at these facts and myths about vaccines. They will really aid in your determination of what’s best for your child.
1. FACT: “In the past 60 years, vaccines helped eradicate one disease (smallpox) and are close to eradicating another (polio).”
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Smallpox was an infectious disease that killed many.
2. FACT: “Vaccines prevent more than 2.5 million deaths each year.”
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Not bad when you consider that nearly 55.3 million people die each year.
3. MYTH: “Getting so many vaccines will overwhelm a child’s immune system.”
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Compared to the other immune system challenges that babies experience every day, an immunization is nothing.
4. MYTH: “Vaccines cause autism and other disorders.”
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No conclusive evidence has proved this to be fact.
5. FACT: “New and underutilized vaccines could avert nearly 4 million deaths by 2015.”
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Scientists are constantly working on new ways to protect their fellow man.
6. MYTH: “My baby might get the disease it’s supposed to prevent.”
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Most vaccines contain killed viruses, not live agents.
7. FACT: “Vaccines helped reduce measles deaths globally by 78% between 2000 and 2008. In sub-Saharan Africa, deaths dropped by 92% in the same period.”
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Vaccines are making a difference all over the world.
8. FACT: “The CDC has reported a 99% reduction in the incidence of bacterial meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae since the introduction of the vaccination against the disease in 1988.”
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That’s almost 100% in less than two decades!
9. MYTH: “You shouldn’t give a vaccine to a child who has a cold.”
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Even a low-grade fever shouldn’t delay a child from receiving their immunizations.
10. MYTH: “Vaccines can provide 100 percent disease protection.”
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Even the best vaccines are only 95% effective.
11. FACT: “Not all vaccines are given as shots. Some vaccines are given orally.”
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There are ways around needle phobias.
12. FACT: “Most diseases prevented by vaccines are no longer common in the United States. If vaccines weren’t used, just a few cases could quickly turn into tens or hundreds of thousands.”
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If we stop vaccinating our children, diseases we thought were long gone could come back in great numbers.
(via DoSomething, Parenting)
Now that you have some facts, good luck with your decision! We hope your child remains happy and healthy.
