Currently, vaccination is the most massive medical intervention that can be carried out for healthy people, including children. In this regard, the medical community and patients place high demands on the vaccines used in the immunization of the population. The efficacy and safety of vaccines are studied in detail from the initial stage and throughout the whole development process.
However, only at the post-registration stage, when a vaccine is used in a wide population, rare adverse reactions can be identified. These adverse reactions, on the one hand, depend on the medical properties of the vaccine, and, on the other hand, on the state of physiological systems and the genetic characteristics of a person. Thus, the topic of vaccination and its’ need for the population has always raised many questions from the general public. Some people believe that vaccination is necessary in order to avoid contagious illnesses, while others are sure that there is no point or even harm in vaccinations.
The anti-vaccine movement began with Edward Jenner’s invention of the smallpox vaccine. At that time, opponents of vaccinations believed that vaccinations turned people into cows on the basis that the vaccine was made from cowpox. Nowadays, anti-vaxxers claim that the excipients in the vaccine cause pathologies such as cerebral palsy, cancer, and autism in children. Adherents of the modern anti-vaccination movement rely on a report published in 1998. In the report, the English doctor Andrew Wakefield argued the connection between the occurrence of autism and intestinal diseases and the MMR vaccine against measles, rubella, and mumps. Despite the fact that, based on numerous studies, Dr. Wakefield’s conclusions were found to be erroneous, after his statement, a mass refusal of vaccinations was recorded.
While vaccines do contain preservatives and other substances, they are in microscopic quantities that do not have a toxic effect on the body. Children constantly receive toxic substances from the external environment – water, air, toys, food – in much higher concentrations. Under the auspices of WHO, the International Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has been established, which constantly monitors and checks vaccine preparations, as well as studies specific cases of severe complications after vaccination.
Unfortunately, very rarely, but vaccination does have serious side effects, such as anaphylactic shock, pericarditis, or thrombosis. The reasons for the development of adverse reactions can be not only antigenic components, but also excipients, including preservatives, adjuvants, and industrial impurities. Moreover, even minor changes in the manufacturing process can affect the quality, efficacy and safety of vaccines.
However, the probability of complications from vaccination is many times lower than from the diseases against which it is carried out. For example, the risk of developing complications after vaccination with polio is 1 case per 1-3 million vaccinated. It should also be noted that if severe complications arose on the introduction of weakened or killed microbes into the body, then meeting active infectious agents in the natural environment could lead to death.
Vaccines protect millions of people from contracting infectious diseases, and prevent thousands of deaths. Parents should be aware of the advantages of the vaccination and vaccinate their children in a timely manner within the framework of the existing immunization program. While vaccination does not guarantee complete safety, even when met with the disease, vaccinated children are able to tolerate the infection much better and are less likely to suffer from complications associated with it.