Vaccines have been considered as a boon for mankind. There are so many life threatening diseases and the vaccines have helped to eradicate many of these diseases.

Vaccines reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defenses to build protection. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that vaccines prevented over 10 million deaths between 2010 – 2015 and prevented serious illness in many millions.

Vaccines proved its worth once again during Covid pandemic where we observed the intensity of symptoms was greatly reduced post vaccination. Vaccines protected many people with comorbidities and reduced mortality.

Despite the beneficial effects, a lot of stigma and fear surrounds vaccines and there are still some populations who feel that vaccines are useless!

Here are the three most common misconceptions about vaccines – 

• Vaccines are not safe/Vaccines cause autism  – Myth

For vaccines to be deemed safe, extensive clinical trials and research is carried out to check the safety parameters and its effectiveness. Each batch of vaccines are tested separately.

Once the license is given to vaccines, WHO continues to monitor the vaccine and any serious side effects are thoroughly investigated. 

There was a 1990 study which raised concerns about the MMR vaccine causing autism in kids. The research was found to be flawed and the research paper was withdrawn from the journal. There is no evidence to suggest that MMR or any other vaccine can lead to autism or any other disorders among children.

• We can develop immunity naturally and vaccines are not important – Myth

Sometimes the symptoms of the actual disease are severe enough to cause side effects like mental retardation, diabetes or even thyroid disorders. 

This is a big price to pay to get natural immunity Vs immunity through vaccines which has negligible side effects and gives us life long immunity.

Secondly, the rate of recovery is slower with natural immunity as compared to ones with vaccines. 

Hence vaccines are important and must not be avoided at any cost.

• Vaccines contain toxic ingredients/metals – Myth

Some vaccines contain aluminum and formaldehyde as preservative, but these are in minute quantities which will not cause any harmful effect on our body.

Sometimes vaccines cause mild fever or pain or even a little rash which dissipates quickly without causing any serious problems. This is not associated with the content of the vaccine but in turn is an indication that the vaccine is working well in our body to build our immunity.

Vaccines are protective in nature. It is important to speak to your health care advisor if you have any doubts regarding the vaccines. It could save the life of your loved ones!