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Myth Busters – Childhood Vaccine Edition

Discover the truth about five myths people believe involving vaccines and kids

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Myth Busters – Childhood Vaccine Edition

In this digital age, we have so much access to information. Unfortunately, some of the information that we come across, whether it’s on the internet or social media, isn’t actually true, but many people believe this false information. This becomes dangerous when it comes to health-related topics like vaccines, where incorrect information leads some parents to think twice about vaccinating their children.

“Vaccines are an effective means of preventing life-threatening illnesses by boosting the body’s natural immune response to diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, yet we’ve seen vaccine hesitancy has really increased over the last couple of years,” says pediatrician Debra Carter, MD, Executive Vice Chair, Pediatrics, LVHN. “Although vaccines have been proven to be both safe and effective based on sound scientific evidence, several myths – about the effectiveness and risks of some vaccines – are circulating, keeping vaccines at the center of unnecessary controversy.”

To help emphasize the safety and necessity of vaccines, Dr. Carter is helping bust five myths you may have heard.

Myth 1: Vaccines contain harmful ingredients.

The truth: Every effort has been made to make sure there are no harmful ingredients in vaccines for kids. This includes testing all the ingredients present in a vaccine during safety studies and acting accordingly if an ingredient is deemed unsafe. For example, when concerns arose many years ago about preservatives in vaccines, thimerosal – a mercury-based preservative used in vaccines and other medical products – was removed from all childhood vaccines except multidose influenza vaccine vials. At Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, we use single dose vials, and we are confident that all vaccines we offer can be safely administered to kids.

“What I would like for families to recognize is that the vast majority of vaccines we give to our pediatric patients have been used for many years and have a proven safety record that families can trust,” Dr. Carter says. “If parents have any concerns, we want them to have those discussions with us. Our pediatrics team is here to answer questions, reassure them that the vaccines we administer are safe, and explain why they can trust the scientific data as well as our personal and professional experience.”

Myth 2: Vaccines cause autism and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The truth: This myth stems from a study performed by Andrew Wakefield, MD, and 12 of his colleagues in 1998. They published a case series in the Lancet that suggested the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine may cause children to develop autism. However, the report and findings were significantly flawed by bad science, leading to the journal retracting the paper and admitting that several elements in the paper were incorrect. Since then, several studies have been conducted that prove there is no link between the MMR vaccination and autism.

“Vaccines are very safe and there is no evidence to link vaccines as the cause of autism or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS),” Dr. Carter says. “A vaccine-preventable disease is far more likely to harm a patient than a vaccine is. In fact, most vaccine reactions are temporary and minor, such as a mild fever or sore arm. It is rare to experience a serious health event following a vaccination, but these events are carefully monitored and investigated.”

To help prevent SIDS, the best thing a parent can do is follow safe sleeping guidelines. This includes making sure babies are always placed on their back to sleep as the back sleep position is the safest for all babies. Parents should also follow other safe-sleeping guidelines such as using a firm, flat sleep surface, not sharing their beds with babies, keeping soft objects out of the sleep area, and avoiding smoke exposure.

Myth 3: Vaccine-preventable diseases are just part of childhood. It is better to have the disease than become immune through vaccines.

The truth: Vaccine-preventable diseases have many serious complications that can be avoided through immunization. Vaccines stimulate the immune system to produce an immune response similar to a natural infection, but they do not cause the disease or put the immunized person at risk of its potential complications. During the 2023-24 flu season, more than 470,000 people were hospitalized with influenza. The flu vaccine reduced hospitalization by 40-50 percent.

“Any person who has seen the devastating impact these vaccine-preventable diseases can have would disagree with this myth,” Dr. Carter says. “Vaccines were created against these diseases to prevent long-term morbidity and mortality. For example, measles can cause encephalitis, which can lead to permanent brain damage. In addition, I have seen children die from chicken pox during my career.”

Myth 4: I don’t need to vaccinate my child because all the other children around them are already immune.

The truth: Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, reducing the chance of an outbreak. Young infants, pregnant women and immunocompromised people who cannot receive vaccines depend on this type of protection. However, if enough people rely on herd immunity as the method of preventing infection from vaccine-preventable diseases, herd immunity will soon disappear.

“It's also important to note that herd immunity doesn’t work with every disease,” Dr. Carter says. “Herd immunity is possible for diseases that are caused by one organism, like measles, but other diseases like Influenza are caused by many different virus strains, so it is virtually impossible to prevent your child from getting exposed to the flu. You can help protect them from serious disease and hospitalization though by getting them vaccinated.”

Myth 5: A child can actually get the disease from a vaccine.

The truth: Vaccines do not cause the disease they are intended to prevent.

“Vaccines contain either inactivated or weakened forms of the virus or bacteria that cause a disease. This means that the vaccine cannot cause you to get the disease,” Dr. Carter says. “In the case of live vaccines like FluMist, a weakened version of the disease-causing virus is introduced into the body. This engages the body’s natural defenses and stimulates a strong and lasting immune response in most people. People with suppressed immune systems should talk to their doctor before getting a live vaccine.”  

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