Formaldehyde in Vaccines?

Formaldehyde has become a major concern when it comes to vaccinations. Formaldehyde is an active ingredient in vaccines and has caused several parents concern over their children's health. Many parents are worried about the use of formaldehyde and it's link to health issues and even cancer. To understand why formaldehyde is used in vaccinations, I found some information on Public Health. According to Public Health,"Formaldehyde has been used for decades in vaccines to inactivate viruses and detoxify bacterial toxins, ensuring they don’t result in sickness when injected" (Public Health). Formaldehyde helps lessen the effects of the disease once it is injected. Formaldehyde causes a lot of concern due to the fact that several studies have linked long exposure to formaldehyde to several types of cancer. When asked if formaldehyde is safe, Public Health states that "The potential for harm depends on the amount" (Public Health). Formaldehyde is in our body naturally as part o our metabolic system, but when we are exposed to high amounts for long periods of time our body may become overwhelmed and this is when we see health issue begin to occur. This is why the amount of formaldehyde in our vaccinations is such a small amount. 

To read more about formaldehyde in vaccines, visit Public Health's website here:
http://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/goes-vaccine/

Is Too Many Vaccines at Once Harmful?

One of the most popular misconceptions that parents have when it comes to vaccinating their baby is that receiving so many vaccines so soon will harm the babies immune system. An article released by Tara Haelle for Parents Magazine tackled this misconception on an overload of vaccinations. According to Haelle, "while kids now get more shots—especially since each vaccine usually requires multiple doses—they're also protected against almost twice as many diseases" (Haelle). She backs this up with the idea that in the 70's and 80's children were vaccinated against 8 diseases. A 2-year old today, however, can beat back 14 diseases. Therefor, while the amount of vaccinations in children has increased, so has the amount of diseases we can prevent. Haelle also stresses the fact that while children are receiving a larger amount of vaccines, the vaccines contain a significantly smaller amount of antigens than they used to. Antigens are the viral components of a vaccine that the immune system recognizes and builds up antibodies for. Because we are putting less antigens in vaccinations, children are being exposed to a smaller amount of the disease than they have been in the past. 

To read more, visit Tara Haelle's article here: http://www.parents.com/health/vaccines/controversy/8-reasons-parents-dont-vaccinate-and-why-they-should/

3 Reason Why I Don't Vaccinate My Children

In an effort to understand why some parents choose not to vaccinate their children, I ran across an article from Shane Ellison who provides 3 reasons why he has chosen not to vaccinate his children. Ellison believes that if all vaccines worked, then vaccinated children would not be at risk from unvaccinated children. He also states that the herd immunity theory is nothing but a myth, and because "the spread of infection isn’t limited to coming into contact with another person...you can get sick without ever seeing another individual (Ellison). He also encourages all of his readers to fill out vaccine exemption forms that allow parents to legally refuse to vaccinate their children.

Ellison's first reason for not vaccinating his children is that "Vaccination does not always mean immunization." Vaccinations only temporarily boost our immune defenses. Ellison explains that immune systems are only meant to recognize and attack invaders that come through the "front door," which would be the nose, mouth, and eyes. Because of this, it is unnatural for immune systems to properly attack invaders that are forced into our body with a needle. The whole process is unnatural and not as effective as it would be if the body were able to naturally recognize the disease and fight it off.

Ellison's second reason for not vaccinating his children is that he believes vaccinations expose children to toxins. According to Ellison, vaccines are filled with things such as "dozens of chemicals, heavy metals and allergens" (Ellison). Formaldehyde is also found in several different vaccines, and according to the Food and Drug Administration, may cause cancer. Ellison lists several different toxins that are found in vaccines, and even lists several health issues that are listed as side effects, one of which is autism. 

The last reason Ellison lists for refusing vaccinations is the idea that children can build their immune system naturally. For the most part, every individual has control over their own immunity. Through strong exercise, diet, good hygiene and sanitation, we should be able to keep our immune system strong enough to fight off diseases. According to Ellison, this is the reason that two people who live in the same household could have two completely different reactions from catching the same disease. Some would be extremely sick, while some may not see any side effects.  

To read more about Ellison's story, go here:
https://thepeopleschemist.com/reasons-dont-vaccinate-children-vaccine-supporters-shouldnt-give/

Why it is Harmful to Skip or Delay Vaccinations

While it is dangerous to completely not vaccinate your children at all, it is also dangerous to skip certain vaccinations or delay getting them. Many parents avoid vaccinations when their child is young because they don't like to see their children cry or because they believe the child is receiving too many vaccines to be so young.  The New York State Department of Health has recently released an article explaining the dangers that come with skipping or delaying a child's vaccinations. According to New York State, "A child's immune system is more vulnerable without vaccinations," making them more susceptible to diseases that once killed thousands of children every year (New York State). The article from New York State also mentions that idea that children who are diagnosed with a dangerous disease from lack of vaccination is likely to be quarantined and separated from everyone else in the public so they do not put others at risk. Parents who do not vaccinate their children also put others at risk who cannot receive vaccinations due to a weak immune system or allergic reactions they have from vaccinations. 

For more information, go here: 
https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/vaccine_safety/harm.htm

Vaccination Myths and Their Realities

While most parents in the United States get their children properly vaccinated, there is a small but growing group of parents who believe the risk of disease from vaccination is just too big of a risk to take. In fact, an article from Catherine Heusel states that  "nearly 90%of kids in the United States are fully immunized against ailments that once killed thousands of children every year" (Heusel). This leaves a whole 10% of children that are not being vaccinated and are putting everyone else at risk for near deadly diseases. Ironically, parents are worried about their children developing health issues from receiving vaccinations, so they choose to take their chances. To help clarify some of the misconceptions that come with vaccinations, Heusel included several different myths about vaccines and the realities of them. 

One of the first myths Heusel discusses is the myth that "Since most children are already vaccinated, it's no big deal if a few kids aren't" (Heusel). Heusel debunks this myth by stating "Immunization doesn't protect just individual children." Unvaccinated children and adults are extremely at risk for harboring infections that could endanger individuals who are not able to get vaccinated or have allergic reactions to vaccinations. Unvaccinated individuals also put pregnant women and children under the age of 1 at a much higher risk of infection and disease. 

Another myth the Heusal discusses is the myth that "diseases such as diphtheria and polio have been wiped out in this country, so there's no point in vaccinating a child against a disease she's unlikely to get" (Heusel). The reality of this is that diseases never truly disappear. Just because a disease has not surfaced in a while, does not mean that it will not return. Also, a decrease in vaccination rates make it much easier for deadly diseases to resurface. As children stop being protected from these diseases, we will see more diseases return. 

To read more myths about vaccinations, visit Heusel's article here:
http://www.parents.com/health/vaccines/facts/vaccination-facts/

The Flu Vaccine: Who Should Get It?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines the flu as "a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death." The flu, also known as influenza, is a particularly dangerous disease because it changes every year. The CDC recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months should receive the flu vaccine. Getting the flu vaccine is "particularly important for people who are at high risk of serious complications from influenza" (CDC). People who should not receive the flu shot include children younger than 6 months of age or people with a serious, life threatening allergic reaction to the flu vaccine (CDC).  In terms of when you receive the vaccine, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccination becomes available, typically around the end of October. Receiving the flu vaccine greatly decreases a person's chance of getting the flu, especially during flu season. Recent studies show that "vaccine reduces the risk of flu illness by about 50% to 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are like the vaccine viruses" (CDC).

To read more about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, you can visit the CDC's website here: 
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

How Do Vaccinations Work?

When discussing vaccinations, it is important that we understand how they work so that we are always being safe and protecting ourselves and the rest of the community to the best of our ability. PublicHealth's website is an excellent source for information on vaccines, what goes into them, and how they work. For the sake of this post, I am going to be using information from PublicHealth's website to provide information on the ways that vaccines work, and what happens when everyone doesn't get vaccinated properly. According to their website, PublicHealth states that, "A vaccine works by training the immune system to recognize and combat pathogens, either viruses or bacteria." Whenever a person receives a vaccine, a small portion of the pathogen is injected into the body. Once the pathogen is in the person's body, the person's immune system will learn to recognize that pathogen and fight it off. Because of this, the body is able to fight off the pathogen before it is able to take over the person's body. 

Once enough people have received the vaccination for a specific disease, it makes it incredibly difficult for that disease to resurface throughout the community. On their website, PublicHealth uses the term "herd immunity" to describe the process where a disease will nearly die out entirely due to the fact that entire populations will be vaccinated against it. PublicHealth emphasizes, however, that the "herd immunity" theory is incredibly important because "there will always be a percentage of the population that cannot be vaccinated, including infants, young children, the elderly, people with severe allergies, pregnant women, or people with compromised immune systems." The "herd immunity" theory is only effective as long as everyone who can receive vaccinations are getting them. If everyone in the community has the mindset of, "If I don't get vaccinated, it won't affect me because everyone else is vaccinated," then we are likely to see a reversal of the "herd immunity" theory. 

To read more about vaccinations, visit PublicHealth's website here:
http://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/understanding-vaccines/vaccines-work/