Are vaccinations worth it?
Vaccines are meant to protect the body from foreign pathogens and other threats but some think they may have some adverse effects. Photo courtesy of revolutionofthemind.org
October 4, 2016
Vaccinations have become increasingly newsworthy as of late, as research has been showing very negative effects of various vaccines in the medical world.
Vaccines work to prepare the body for defense against foreign pathogens and other invaders. They function by using a dead or inactive antigen inputted into the body so that the body will produce antibodies for an immune response. Thus, effectively creating an immunity to the disease without an individual having to be subjected to the pathogen beforehand.
However, very derogatory remarks regarding vaccines have come into the media lately. Many negative effects have been reported to be associated with the new vaccine for HPV, the Gardasil shot. A boy that was paralyzed from the neck down claimed that it was due to the Gardasil vaccination.
A report by vaccines.news also came out in early September that more people die from vaccinations than from predators (bears, snakes, sharks, alligators, etc.). This report claims that vaccinations lead to over five thousand deaths in the United States yearly.
One vaccination that many people seem to question is the flu vaccine. This vaccine is one that many people get once a year, hoping to prevent the flu. However, people often question why one needs to get a flu shot every year, when a vaccination is supposed to induce your body to create lifetime antibodies. Officials will say that there are always new strands of the flu coming into play, and they even admit that vaccines usually only have a temporary effect. So, vaccines for the flu may not even work in the same way that people are believing them to work.
However, all of these are just reports. There are also many studies that show the positive results of getting vaccinated for various pathogens and viruses. Studies show that the risk of obtaining negative effects of a vaccination are still not as great as the reward of prevention and defense of many viruses and diseases in the world today.
Just like many other things in the world of medicine and health today, scientists and experts are constantly changing their stances as technological advances continue to pave way for new knowledge.
