Some things you read on the internet are SCARY!
The internet is full of false and misleading websites and stories about vaccines & immunizations that can scare newbie parents into acting irresponsibly. Friends can have even scarier stories when they tell parents they know someone, who knows someone else, who knows someone else who heard that immunizations caused some horrible outcome. But the truth is immunizations protect children. Rumors, untrue stories and even fraudulent studies that say otherwise must be ignored.
Unvaccinated children are exposed to horrible diseases that may kill them. Unvaccinated children can carry these horrible diseases and infect other children too young to be vaccinated. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control say Immunizations are safe and children should get them.
Common myths that circulate regularly and the truth
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[icon icon=”thumbs-down” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Myth: Vaccines cause autism and other diseases
Vaccines do not cause autism, multiple sclerosis, or diabetes. [icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon]
All vaccines have potential side effects. However, most are mild and temporary like soreness where the shot was injected and low-grade fevers. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there is no evidence to support any claims that vaccines cause or contribute to health problems like autism, multiple sclerosis or diabetes. The CDC closely monitors vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
The CDC says: Because signs of autism may appear around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine, some parents may worry that the vaccine causes autism. Vaccine safety experts, including experts at CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), agree that MMR vaccine is not responsible for recent increases in the number of children with autism. In 2004, a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there is no link between autism and MMR vaccine, and that there is no link between autism and vaccines that contain thimerosal as a preservative.
[icon icon=”thumbs-down” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Myth: Vaccines don’t do anything. The diseases they claim to fight have already been eradicated naturally before vaccines were introduced, because of better hygiene and sanitation.
All the diseases that vaccines prevent are still out there and improved sanitation and hygiene cannot provide the protection that vaccines do. [icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon]
Certainly, better hygiene and sanitation can help prevent the spread of diseases & illnesses, but the germs that cause disease are still out there. According to the CDC the drop of cases in every disease vaccines prevent correlates directly with the introduction and continued use of the vaccines.
[icon icon=”thumbs-down” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Myth: Giving a child multiple vaccinations for different diseases at the same time increases the risk of harmful side effects and can overload the immune system.
Vaccines are as effective in combination as they are individually and combinations carry no greater risk for adverse side effects [icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon]
A number of studies have been conducted to examine the effects of giving various combinations of vaccines simultaneously. In fact, neither the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) nor the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) would recommend the simultaneous administration of any vaccines until such studies showed the combinations to be both safe and effective. These studies have shown that the recommended vaccines are as effective in combination as they are individually, and that such combinations carry no greater risk for adverse side effects. Consequently, both the ACIP and AAP recommend simultaneous administration of all routine childhood vaccines when appropriate.
[icon icon=”thumbs-down” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Myth: DTaP vaccine causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
DTaP does not cause or contribute to SIDS [icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon]
The Institute of Medicine reported that all controlled studies that have compared immunized versus non immunized children have found either no association . . . or a decreased risk . . . of SIDS among immunized children and concluded that the evidence does not indicate a causal relation between [DTaP][/DTaP] vaccine and SIDS.
This belief came about because a moderate proportion of children who die of SIDS have recently been vaccinated with DTaP; and on the surface, this seems to point toward a causal connection. But this logic is faulty; you might as well say that eating bread causes car crashes, since most drivers who crash their cars had probably eaten bread within the past 24 hours.
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[icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Immunizations are required and save lives
All children at Halsey Schools are required to be immunized according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Controls immunization schedule. No exceptions.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Says Children Need Immunizations
Despite our best efforts to educate parents about the effectiveness of vaccines and the realistic chances of vaccine-associated adverse events, some will decline to have their children vaccinated. This often results from families misinterpreting or misunderstanding information presented by the media and on unmonitored and biased Web sites, causing substantial and often unrealistic fears.
The Center For Disease Control and Prevention Says immunizations are safe
Myths and misinformation about vaccine safety can confuse parents who are trying to make sound decisions about their children’s health care.
Vaccination is a common, memorable event, and association of events in time often signals cause and effect. While some of the sickness or reactions that follow vaccination may be caused by the vaccine, many are unrelated events that occur by coincidence after vaccination. Therefore, the scientific research that attempts to distinguish true vaccine adverse events from unrelated, chance occurrence is important.
[icon icon=”thumbs-up” size=”small” style=”none” shape=”inherit”][/icon] Reliable, Truthful Information about Immunizations
Vaccines save lives. Please vaccinate your child and let your friends know the truth.
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