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Controversy over childhood immunization is born out of ignorance. Much of the circulating information is myths worth debunking.
Vaccine administration always provokes a reaction of the immune system. – In some people we can observe them in the form of post-vaccination reactions – says Dr. Iwona Paradowska-Stankiewicz from the Department of Epidemiology of the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene. – This is usually an expected reaction from the person receiving the vaccine. It results from the initiated reactions of the immune system. It depends on the type of vaccine administered, its composition and the individual response of the person to be vaccinated. The most common reactions are mild at the injection site. These are swelling, soreness, redness.
In turn, Dr. Ewa Augustynowicz from the Department of Serum and Vaccine Research of the National Institute of Public Health – PZH explains that undesirable vaccination reaction (NOP) means intensified reactions with a longer duration, e.g. three, four days or longer, and with greater intensity, e.g. redness covering the entire arm. General NOP such as fever, feeling worse, weakness are less common. – Both local and general NOP are not a contraindication to further vaccination. They usually resolve spontaneously after about two or three days, without complications, she emphasizes. Serious post-vaccination reactions, such as fainting or impaired consciousness, crying that cannot be comforted, very high fever (40 degrees C) within two days after vaccination, rash, skin erythema, and seizures are very rare. Violent post-vaccination reactions appear within a few or a dozen or so minutes after administration of the vaccine, therefore it is recommended to observe the patient after the injection. Any unusual reaction to vaccination should be reported to your doctor. Information on the type of NOPs and their frequency can be found in the Summary of Product Characteristics, a document that can be found on the website of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products or the European Medicines Agency.
- Read more about post-vaccination fever
According to the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene, in the case of vaccines used in Poland, one undesirable post-vaccination reaction (NOP) occurs on average once per 10. vaccinations. It must be remembered that serious adverse reactions to vaccines are much less common than complications following diseases that are prevented by vaccines. For example, having a child with pneumococcal meningitis and encephalitis may have permanent consequences, the most common of which are deafness, hydrocephalus and epilepsy, paresis or paralysis of the limbs, speech and personality disorders.
Are there too many vaccinations?
Parents are often concerned about the number of vaccinations. Some believe that many of them prevent diseases that have long been eradicated. However, it is not so. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated, for example, that due to the increase in the number of cases of infection in the world with the polio virus, which causes – leading to disability and sometimes even death – Heine-Medina disease, there is a high risk of its occurrence in EU countries. As many refugees from Syria where such cases have been reported have come to Europe, the risk of the disease is increasing.
Prof. Mirosław J. Wysocki, national consultant in the field of public health, reminds that the cases also occurred in Ukraine. – Considering that many Ukrainians work seasonally in Poland, parents who do not vaccinate their children may be afraid – he warns. In England and France, panic over the false information about the link between the MMR vaccine and autism resulted in many parents failing to vaccinate their children in the 80s and 90s. This resulted in an increase in the incidence of measles, causing many serious complications and deaths. Recently, a very severe case of diphtheria has been reported in Spain, which has resulted in the death of a child. Experts emphasize that the more vaccines become available, the less diseases threaten us. Pediatrician, prof. Wojciech Feleszko from the Medical University of Warsaw explains that the administration of many vaccines does not overload the child’s immune system, because those currently used contain only a few antigens, i.e. substances recognized by the body’s immune system and causing the formation of antibodies, while the previous ones had several thousand. It is worth remembering that in the event of a natural illness, a child’s body is exposed to hundreds of thousands of proteins with antigenic properties.
Can the vaccine cause autism and other diseases?
There is a myth that the vaccine causes autism. Dr hab. Piotr Albrecht 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, considering it a forgery. The possibility of diagnosing autism in a child coincided with the administration of one of the vaccines. This time coincidence was misinterpreted as a cause and effect relationship. Specialists also emphasize that vaccines do not cause cancer, autoimmune, neurological and allergic diseases.
Another myth is that some of them contain pathogenic mercury. Meanwhile, it is ethylmercury, which does not accumulate in the body and has no harmful effects when administered to the vaccine. Methylmercury is dangerous, it is found in, for example, some fish, incl. in tuna.
Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Zieliński from the Department of Epidemiology of the National Institute of Public Health – PZH says that recently anti-vaccine movements have been conducting a fear campaign against vaccines containing squalene. “There are no rational indications to associate any adverse health effects with the presence of squalene in vaccines,” he emphasizes.
Prof. Teresa Jackowska, a national consultant in the field of paediatrics, adds that such myths arise from the ignorance of parents and sometimes even doctors themselves. However, he says that in the hospital ward he manages, he meets only a few parents each year who are opposed to vaccination for 2-3 thousand. children hospitalized at that time.
Contraindications to vaccinations
Breastfeeding does not exempt the child from the obligation to vaccinate, because the mother’s immune bodies are not able to protect the infant against all diseases. Vaccinations are also very necessary for those children who do not go to nursery or kindergarten, because they meet their peers on the playground or during visits to friends. In addition, healthy adults are often carriers of pathogenic pathogens. Vaccinations not only prevent disease but also prevent infection by vectors – so the immunity of the entire population increases as a result. A contraindication to vaccinations is not hay fever or upper respiratory tract infection with a fever below 38,5 degrees Celsius. Each child must be examined by a physician prior to administration of the vaccine, and it is he who qualifies them for vaccination. It is also worth knowing that children with chronic diseases, debilitated or constantly taking medications should also be vaccinated. For toddlers with reduced immunity, immunization is particularly important because they are the most vulnerable to infectious diseases and suffer the most from them.