Vaccines: Fact vs. Fiction

From United Healthcare
January 2010

These days, it’s easy to get information about your health. But, it’s also easy to get misinformation. Stories you hear in the media or online about vaccines could leave you scratching your head — and wondering if they’re necessary, safe and effective.

Myths Debunked

Claim: Vaccines aren’t needed. Diseases they protect against are no longer a threat.

Facts: Many illnesses are less of a threat than they used to be. But, in many cases, vaccines deserve the credit. If people stop getting these vaccines, the diseases could resurface, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For example, before the measles vaccine was offered in the United States, several hundred thousand Americans got the disease each year. After the vaccine was licensed in 1963, there was a huge drop in measles cases. Rates of the illness have stayed low since. Between 2000 and 2005, there were only 405 U.S. measles cases.

Now consider what happens when people stop taking vaccines. In the early 1970s, about 70 percent of people in Japan got the vaccine for whooping cough. The country had 393 cases of the disease in 1974 and no deaths. When vaccination rates dropped to 40 percent or less because of fear about the vaccine, cases of whooping cough rose dramatically. Roughly 13,000 cases were diagnosed in Japan in 1979. Forty-one people died from the disease that year.

Claim: Vaccines cause many harmful side effects, illnesses and deaths.

Facts: Vaccines may cause pain or tenderness at the injection site. You also might have a mild fever afterward. These problems are minor, however, and won’t last long. Serious problems are rare.

Paul A. Offit, M.D., and Louis M. Bell, M.D., authors of the book Vaccines: What You Should Know, remind us that few things in life are totally harmless. They point out that more than 300 Americans die each year in bath- or shower-related accidents. Yet, few of us think bathing is unsafe.

Claim: Vaccines for diseases that no longer exist in the United States are a waste of time and money.

	H1N1 Vaccine   The H1N1 Vaccine is different than the Seasonal Flu Vaccine.   Contact your physician’s office today if you would like more information on scheduling these vaccines.

Facts: Travelers could be exposed to a disease outside of the United States and bring it home. Visitors from other countries or people who move here also could carry it. If you’re not protected, you could get sick.

Another reason to have vaccines is to protect other people. Some can’t get certain vaccines. They might be allergic to something in the vaccine, for instance. However, if everyone around them has been vaccinated, the illness can’t be passed on.

Claim: Giving a child multiple vaccines at once increases the risk of side effects.

Facts: Experts have carefully studied whether giving more than one vaccine at a time is safe and effective. They’ve concluded that it is.

There are good reasons for giving vaccines together. Early in life, children are very vulnerable to illness. The sooner they’re protected, the better. Getting several vaccines in one shot cuts down on the number of needle sticks a child must face. It saves time and money, too.

Claim: Certain batches of vaccines, called “hot lots,” have caused many health problems.

Facts: The government uses the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to track health issues that occur after vaccination. However, this information doesn’t really do the average person much good. Here’s why:

• The health issues reported to VAERS often are caused by something else. It’s just a coincidence that they occurred after vaccination.
  
  
• Anyone can submit a report to VAERS — the information isn’t verified.
  
  
• Lot sizes vary. A large lot may be used to vaccinate more people. Thus, more adverse events may be reported.

So, published lists of VAERS reports can’t really identify a bad lot.

Claim: The flu shot can give you the flu.

Facts: The flu vaccine contains inactivated, or killed, viruses, which means they cannot cause infection.

The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease.

Still Unsure?

You’re bound to hear other claims about vaccines, too. But, remember, vaccines have a long track record of protecting public health. If you have concerns or questions, talk with your doctor. Your family’s health and well-being are too important not to. You also can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.