Remember when there were no immunization shots and folks prevented disease with whole foods and exercise? Me neither. There has never been a moment in our lives when that statement was totally true.
Yesterday, we touched on colds. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the more serious diseases out there. This post will take a deep dive into the world of vaccinations and their necessity. At our close, you can decide if you should sprint over to CVS to get poked.
I was prepared to write a tongue in cheek post on this topic and sent a few photos over to Kaplifestyle’s editor extraordinaire, Stephanie. Apparently, she didn’t think riffing carelessly about the topic was responsible. She hit me back with a note:
Wading into a minefield, huh?
Translation: “What are you, an imbecile? You don’t want to mess around with a topic folks feel so passionately about. “ Plus, and I should have known this would be the case, Steph knows a thing or two about the topic.
Slightly more accurate translation: I’m okay with diving into controversial topics, but I think it should be done knowingly. More importantly, I think whenever there’s a topic that has potential life-threatening implications, we should treat it seriously.
Flu shots, shingles, mumps, measles, whatever. Are we protecting ourselves or causing harm? The Mayo Clinic weighs in:
“Vaccines for adults are recommended based on your age, prior vaccinations, health, lifestyle, occupation and where you travel.
The schedule is updated every year, and changes range from the addition of a new vaccine to tweaks of current recommendations. To determine exactly which vaccines you need now and which vaccines are coming up, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.”
I must be living in the dark because I’m not on any vaccine schedule and I’ll be 40 in July.
Luckily for you, that vaccine schedule isn’t quite as intense as it sounds. The CDC recommends, for a 40 year old male, a flu vaccine once per year, a tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine or tetanus booster once every 10 years, a measles/mumps/rubella vaccine (once, if you weren’t vaccinated as a child), and possibly a vaccine for varicella (shingles), if you’ve never had chicken pox.
If you took all of them, that’s 2- 4 vaccines right now, then one per year after.
I think, in order to properly evaluate vaccines, we should first do a quick overview.
We often speak of the immune system on Kaplifestyle, discussing ways to boost the body’s natural defenses. It’s beyond clear that eating healthy, whole foods will promote a more robust immune system and enhance your ability to fight off diseases and illnesses.
I thought we’d never get here, Steph. This was my intended plan all along. We can help folks lean on natural….wait a second, I feel a “but” coming.
However (see, not a “but”), the body relies on being able to successfully identify pathogens in order to spur the immune system to deal with them. To put it (possibly overly) simply, if your body doesn’t know what it’s fighting, it can’t bring effective weapons quickly enough, and you get sick. Vaccines, in essence, “teach” your body about what it may encounter. They’re the messenger telling the army how to prepare.
I understand the desire to live and eat clean, relying on natural sources heavily. That shouldn’t relieve us of our obligation to be informed consumers, researching and discovering how we can maximize our health and well-being. Sometimes, that involves taking a hard look at the science. Vaccines are some of the most heavily studied developments in modern medicine, in part because they are so critical to health across the globe. These vaccines aren’t doing anything “unnatural” to your body; they’re stimulating your own immune system.
Pushback time. The act of poking oneself with a sharp needle and injecting a manmade substance carrying a virus or bacteria is unequivocally unnatural. Proceed.
Let me be explicit here – vaccines work. Smallpox killed between 300-500 million people in the 20th century. It was a nasty disease. The last person to be infected naturally was in 1977, because vaccines wiped it out. Vaccines are the reason why we don’t hear about polio anymore, although due to low vaccination rates in some countries (Syria, for instance), it’s not completely eradicated.
Now, it’s easy to understand how important the vaccines for smallpox and polio were. Those diseases are known for having high mortality rates and crippling impacts for the survivors. Measles and influenza don’t quite have the same deadly fear. They probably should. Measles kills .3% of the people it infects in the US, but can have a 25-30% fatality rate outside the US or for immunocompromised people. Influenza (the flu) kills millions, particularly children, the elderly, or other at-risk populations.
Of course, you’re not in those positions. Most folks reading this blog are healthy adults, with a strong immune system after eating berries, living with easy access to first rate medical care. You may be thinking to roll the dice, and if you do get the flu, it’s not such a big deal – a miserable few days and you’ll be back to normal. It’s not that simple.
Bigger picture injection (ooooh): Everyone should be obligated by law to build healthier immune systems. Widespread flu-shots may wipe out the flu but there will be another disease that follows. Immunizations may be huge, effective band-aids, but I wonder if they are another shortcut. I’m still listening.
By getting vaccinated, you protect other people, and particularly those people who are most vulnerable. Not everyone can be vaccinated – allergies, a compromised immune system, some people with cancer or organ transplant recipients, all of these may mean someone can’t receive standard immunizations. However, we don’t rely on every single individual being vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease. Most diseases have a threshold – the number of people who need to be vaccinated to prevent most transmission. If 85% of a population is inoculated against smallpox, it can’t survive in that population.
Just as we should be skeptical of marketing claims from mega-corporations, so too should we be skeptical of people claiming the “natural” and “holistic” position. Religious objections aside, the modern anti-vaccine movement was driven in large part by one individual, Andrew Wakefield. He claimed, in 1998, to have a study of 12 children who developed autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. Not only was he funded by people suing vaccine manufacturers (a clear, and undisclosed, conflict of interest), it later was discovered that he had falsified data and manipulated his results. He was stripped of his license for fraud.
Unfortunately, the impacts of his fraud have been huge. The US had actually come very close to eradicating measles, mumps, and whooping cough. Measles was thought to be entirely eradicated in 2000, in fact. However, due in large part to declining childhood vaccination rates, we’ve seen outbreaks of all three. This isn’t an abstract problem – the child whose parents decided not to vaccinate may not even get sick, but their classmate who just finished chemotherapy for leukemia may die. CBSNews:
So far this year, 159 cases of measles were reported in 16 states, with three outbreaks accounting for most of cases: outbreaks in New York City (58 cases), North Carolina (23 cases) and Texas (21 cases). That’s on track for the most cases since measles was considered eliminated.
Fortunately, said Schuchat, nobody has died.
Eighty-two percent of cases were in unvaccinated persons, and 9 percent were in people who weren’t sure if they’d been vaccinated. Seventy-nine percent of those the unvaccinated cited philosophical differences with the measles mumps and rubella (MMR) shot.
In 2012, at least 18 people died from whooping cough in the largest outbreak of the disease in the last 50 years.
This isn’t simply just a personal choice. This decision, in a very fundamental way, affects the lives of others.
We’ve got our work cut out, my friends. Y’all know that I don’t aim to make decisions for you. I always encourage freedom and flexibility of thought. Despite Stephanie’s breakdown, I’m not on my way to the doctor to get vaccinated. I am, however, ready to take a look at my previously uneducated paradigm and have an internal conversation.
Happy pondering,
Kap
Steph is right. Get vaccinated, people. The whole idea of vaccination is that we can eliminate these things through herd immunity. Some people have compromised immune systems and aren’t able to get vaccinated. But if enough of the rest of the population is vaccinated, they won’t get infected. The science it clear. Vaccinate your kids.
Steph is always right, Kevin.
Excellent summary, Gabe. Too many people avoid vaccines/flu shots because of the myth of mercury or autism, when the opposite is true and like you pointed out, they are preparing your body to prepare itself against the said disease. Tip o’ the kap. See what I did there? Very timely subject, particularly on Dr. Salk’s (inventor of the Polio vaccine) birthday.
Thanks. Steph did all the heavy lifting on this one, brother.
I applaud Stephany and your decision to take this seriously. The HPV vaccination, at first, was not recommended by many pediatricians. However recent research has shown how valuable this vaccination is. My two girls and boy are vaccinated (boys can obtain HPV esophageal cancer). Thank you for encouraging all of us to think deeper.
Interesting. I actually didn’t know boys could get anything from HPV but I still encouraged my 11-year old son to get it. I left it to him but after I explained that he could spread the cancer-causing virus and put others at risk, he sucked it up and took the shot.
Thank you, Terri and Judy, for bringing strong takes.
Fantastic post, Kap, on a very touchy subject. The presentation, the debate, was outstanding. And as usual, you try to inform your readers as best you can and allow them to make their own decisions.
I learned a lot from this. I go back and forth on what I think is best for me and my family. Raising a 3-year old has given me some additional perspective, though. Thanks for the education today.
Appreciate you, Joel.
Getting these well-established vaccines is a no-brainer. A couple months ago I was at the emergency room and there was a very young child there with whooping cough, then I realized that at least one other kid there with the family was also symptomatic. As a parent, as I send my kids off to the petri dish known as a local public school, communicable diseases and the ease in which they are transmitted are a very real thing.
Got it, Tom. Thank you.
The act of poking oneself with a sharp needle and injecting a manmade substance carrying a virus or bacteria is unequivocally unnatural.
Appeal to nature fallacy. What is natural is not necessarily good; what is man-made is not perforce bad. In this case, you introduce pathogens to your body every day – more in one day than you will ever receive in any day of vaccinations in your entire life – but vaccinations do it in a carefully controlled manner designed to stimulate your immune system, not a haphazard way where you hope you acquire immunity “naturally.”
The quote is much more fact than appeal to nature, Keith, but I sense we are generally aligned.
This topic touches home with me, since I have an autistic son. I am not against vaccinations, but I witnessed the change in my son. Whenever we have watch home movies I ususlly leave the room, because the pain is still there and I cannot hold back the tears streamed down my cheaks. Logan was talking, making eye contact, socializing, playing and interacting until he was 16 months old. Then he began to regress and become a zombie. He is now 11 and only began to talk a year ago, still is not fully toilet trained, eats his clothing, loathes haircuts and loud noises. Something took my son from me and unless you lived it, do not say that the line between autism and vaccines does not exist. If you have a typical child, hold them a little bit tighter, count your blessings and be thankful. If you have a special needs child, you are not alone and remember the fight starts with you! Put on those gloves and kick ass!!
Thanks for bringing it, Richie.
Sorry, can’t agree with you here Kap. Once medicine and money went hand in hand real research went out the door. There has been lots of manipulation with the research on vaccines. Additionally, although one would assume batches of vaccines have gotten safer throughout time, mass production seems to have negated that.
While I’m not fond of medicine or vaccines, the moderate advice I’d give to parents is that if its been around for over 30 years it’s probably safe. Newer than that? Be VERY cautious.
Can’t agree with what, Joy? My goal was to make you think. This is not about agreeing, anyhow. It’s about making an informed decision- and I trust you’re more so now than when you arrived this morning.
I am very impressed with both Kap and Stephanie. I am always fascinated by the viewpoints of others on vaccines since I am an infectious diseases scientist. I do not work for a big business pharma company. I do not own stock in any company. I perform my job because I love it, not for money. I study a wide variety of infectious diseases. Do your research properly before deciding not to get vaccinated. I won’t go into the heart breaking stories I see on my end but I have been involved in numerous outbreaks that could have easily been prevented. No one is ever too healthy not to get sick and just because you have not been sick in a long time, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen and it may not affect you as much as it may affect your children as their immune systems are not as developed.
That’s my take.
-Kelebek
I used to not get my flu shot, could care less about vaccines, until I started to work at a children’s hospital and talked with infectious disease specialists, such as yourself. It took hearing these same stories you referred to and learning how safe and important vaccines truly are, despite what the conspiracy theorists say, but I saw the light. The science is concrete. Vaccines save lives. They do not make scientists, doctors, etc rich. There is no connection between vaccines and big pharma. Hint: they give them out for FREE…
Thank you for your feedback Curtis! I do not try to talk people into getting vaccines because that’s not my job. My job is to protect the public through thorough research (15 years and counting). If someone does not want to get vaccinated against everything, then don’t. But if you have children, truly consider which diseases you could pass to your child that could be life threatening and then make an informed decision. Even a “healthy child” is still vulnerable compared to an adult.
-Kelebek
There is a huge $ connection at play. If not how would this happen ? http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/10/27/novartis-selling-flu-vaccine-unit-csl-for/TEAC1ZMjjvHHoN6g9z4msK/story.html
The reason that they are free is that the U.S. government pays for it. Nothing is free.
Nice, Chris.
Thank you both. Always appreciate your consistency, Curtis and Kelebek.
I really like Steph’s approach here. You can live a natural lifestyle and still do vaccinations. Ultimately all the nutrition choices are made to cause reactions from the body. While an injection or nasal spray isn’t natural, the body’s reaction has been thoroughly studied (especially to the mmr/polio vaccines.)
Dig.
Obviously this a very sensitive subject, GK. I somehow fell through the cracks, having never received a varicella (chickenpox) vaccine nor ever contracting chickenpox. And somehow, at the age of 35, I got it, as did my 5-month-old son. Our doctors didn’t know what to do with us and it was obviously quite scary to see baby Julian (and me) covered with itchy spots. We thankfully both recovered, but I don’t remember ever being so sick…it was hellish. People talk about having chickenpox parties and yet I can say it’s no laughing matter. Had I known there was a vaccine to protect us from that nightmare, you can bet I would’ve taken my infant and been the first in line for it!
The older you get, the worse it is to get the Chickenpox (tons of concrete research on that). My mother got it in her 50s despite most of us kids getting it when we were younger. She hospitalized for several days. She suffered from many complications.
Kelebek, thank you for your input. I do hope your mother made a complete recovery.
Jules and Kelebek,
Thanks for bringing personal anecdotes to the blog. Much appreciated.
Just wondering, is there a reason why alternatives to aluminum salts, mercury and formaldehyde haven’t been discovered for vaccines?
Would love to hear what you find. I suggest a search with keywords: alternatives + aluminum salts + mercury + formaldehyde + vaccines.
I live in NC where outbreaks of things like whooping cough are a very real threat. I have a niece who was a heart transplant recipient at 1yr old. She is often home bound even now at 17. Being around the public didn’t pose as big a threat 10 years ago. Children had to be vaccinated to attend school, so the majority of children she came in contact with did not expose her to these illnesses. Now, sadly, that is not the case. She is forced to stay away from areas where there are crowds of people, malls, concerts, sporting events etc, so as not to come in contact with something easily preventable for most people, that could be deadly to her. I know many people that have chosen not to vaccinate their children, I only know of one that is extremely responsible about it. She is very careful about what she exposes her child to and if her child has been exposed to so much as a cold, she keeps her home. Many of the other parents I have met are just too lazy to do it, or use “religion” as an excuse. Yes, there are people with valid reasons who have researched it and feel they are making an educated choice, but for each of them (in my limited experience) there are three that just don’t want to. I think it is irresponsible, and the consequences extend far beyond your child.
Appreciate it, Tabby.