Vaccination myths

Swelling, redness at the injection site, fever, general breakdown and transient anorexia are common reactions to the vaccine and should not be alarming. – This is a normal reaction of the body to the vaccine, and is usually mild and temporary. These symptoms usually disappear after three days. You only need to observe the child, apply a compress to the site of the injection, possibly give an antipyretic agent – says Dr. Iwona Paradowska-Stankiewicz, national consultant in the field of epidemiology. A vaccine adverse event occurs when the disorder occurs within four weeks of vaccination and does not subside. The reason may be errors in the administration of the vaccine – e.g. when the child moves and some of the contents of the preparation comes out. It is also important to keep the vaccines at the right temperature.

Vaccine opponents fear that there are more and more of them. Dr. Wojciech Felaszko from the Department of Lung Diseases and Allergic Diseases in Children of the Medical University of Warsaw admits that today children are vaccinated against more diseases than before, but vaccines are completely different. The earlier ones contained several thousand antigens, substances that are recognized by the body’s immune system and cause the formation of antibodies, and thus immunity. Today’s ones have several of them. Moreover, in Poland, vaccinations are reimbursed much less than in other EU countries. Unfortunately, to the detriment of Polish children.

There is a myth that the vaccine causes autism. Dr. Piotr Albreht from the Children’s Teaching Hospital in Warsaw says that an article published in one of the medical journals contributed to this, but the editors withdrew it as a forgery. The possibility of a child diagnosed with autism coincides with the administration of one of the vaccines. This time coincidence was misinterpreted as a cause and effect relationship.

Another myth is that some vaccines contain harmful mercury. Meanwhile, it is ethylmercury, which does not accumulate in the body and has no harmful effects when administered to the vaccine. “Methylmercury in some fish, such as tuna, is harmful, as it accumulates in the body and is neurotoxic,” says Dr. Albrecht. He points out that he himself vaccinated his children and now vaccinates his grandchildren as well.

Some opponents of vaccination believe that most of the diseases that children are vaccinated against have already been eradicated. They are not afraid of, for example, Heine-Medina disease, which leads to disability and sometimes fatal encephalitis, caused by the Polio virus. Meanwhile, two years ago, WHO stated that due to the increase in the number of cases of infection with this virus in the world and its circulation among citizens of countries close to Europe, there is a high risk of bringing it to EU countries. Prof. Mirosław J. Wysocki, a national consultant in the field of public health, reminds that the cases occurred in Ukraine. – Considering that many Ukrainians work seasonally in Poland, parents who do not vaccinate their children may be afraid. In Poland, this applies to 5 percent. children – reminds prof. Wysocki.

Prof. Teresa Jackowska, a national consultant in the field of paediatrics, believes that myths about vaccinations are born out of ignorance, sometimes even of doctors themselves. She tells about a one-year-old child who was admitted to her ward with severe pneumonia and who was not vaccinated for anything. The doctor asked the mother if she knew what diseases she had not vaccinated against. The woman had no idea. – Only when you see how severe pneumococcal pneumonia is going, will you understand why it is worth vaccinating your child against this disease – says Prof. Jackowska. Today, parents have to pay for this vaccine themselves, but from 2017 it is to be reimbursed. Thanks to the pneumococcal vaccination financed by the municipal government in Kielce, the incidence of pneumonia among children decreased by 96%. The number of elderly people suffering from this disease has also halved because they have not been infected from their children. Dr. Wojciech Felaszko emphasizes that thanks to vaccinations many diseases were eliminated and young doctors did not see many of them. – Recently, there was a patient on the ward, whom we could not diagnose for a long time, although many doctors saw him. It turned out that he was sick with measles, but most doctors did not remember the symptoms of this disease anymore – he says.