6 Facts About Vaccines Everyone Should Know

From the president Donald Trump called on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist — to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, vaccines have once again become a dominant topic among politicians and the general public.

Recent health surveys reveal that skepticism about vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine and the annual flu shot, has increased over the past year. Furthermore, despite the increase in COVID-19 cases in the United StatesRecent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control found that only 1 in 10 children and 1 in 5 adults received the latest COVID-19 booster since its release in August 2024.

“Viruses and bacteria don’t play politics. » Dr Sarah Samscertified family physician and member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicianstold HuffPost. “They’re attacking everyone, and by making this a political issue, we’re potentially opening ourselves up to other pandemics, epidemics (and) the resurgence of diseases that have actually been latent or nearly eradicated for years.”

So what is the science behind these life-saving drugs? HuffPost spoke with medical experts and researchers about Vaccine Facts Everyone Should Knowand why staying up to date on vaccinations is not only crucial for your health, but also that of those around you.

According to a study carried out in 2024 by the World Health Organization, it is estimated 154 million lives saved thanks to global vaccination efforts over the past 50 years, the majority being infants and children.

“I always like to point out numbers that look at vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States as well as in the pre-vaccine and vaccine era,” said Dr. Donald Dumfordinfectious disease expert at the Cleveland Clinic. “The reason we don’t remember the serious consequences of diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria is because of the profound effect of vaccines.”

A common misconception is that vaccine approval is simple, but in reality the process led by doctors and researchers is extremely rigorous to ensure a vaccine’s safety. Sams explained that vaccines go through several rounds of testing well before reaching the general public, and that a “advisory committee on immunization practices reviews all information and helps develop recommendations for the CDC.

This usually involves three phases of clinical trials in which more people are included at each stage to ensure the vaccine is safe and effective.

Testing and clinical trials do not stop after a vaccine is released to the market. THE The Food and Drug Administration continues to monitor manufacturing facilitiesas well as the safety, purity and potency of the vaccine.

Like the overwhelming majority of medications, procedures and medical interventions, vaccines can cause minor side effects; However, these do not outweigh the health problems that skipping recommended vaccinations can cause.

“Side effects of vaccines are usually very mildand most are associated with the shooting itself. For example, having a sore arm after receiving an injection is possible, but it is not a serious problem,” said Dr. Lisa M. Leeprofessor of population health sciences at Virginia Tech, epidemiologist and former CDC official. “For some vaccines, a handful of people have body aches or fevers for a day or two after being vaccinated. This is usually a sign that the person’s immune system is activated, which is what we want.

In rare cases, serious health problems such as allergic reactions may occur after vaccinationand you may not be a good candidate for certain vaccines in the future.

If a vaccine makes you feel tired, feverish, or achy for a few days, it does not mean that you have contracted the disease you are vaccinated against. As Sams said, when you get vaccinated, you get “a piece of the code but not the whole virus particle” to boost the immune system.

“Some types of vaccines contain small parts of the disease-causing virus or a weakened or deactivated virus, but these parts or deactivated viruses cannot cause disease,” Lee explained. “They are used to trick the immune system into developing its defenses because when he sees the virus in its entirety, he is ready to defeat the infection before it can take hold.

Currently the most commonly distributed live virus vaccines Currently used vaccines (that is, a vaccine that includes part of the virus) include the chickenpox vaccine and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The term “live virus” shouldn’t make you angry: Although children can get chickenpox after receiving the chickenpox vaccine, the organization immunize.org reported that a a tiny percentage of vaccinated people develop a mild form of the disease.

A common harmful myth is that vaccines – particularly the MMR and chickenpox vaccines – cause autism. To summarize Dumford succinctly, there are a multitude of studies conducted over more than two decades that show no link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders.

According to Sams, one of the reasons this myth has skyrocketed is due to widespread misinformation and unfortunate timing.

“Language development only occurs after the age of one, and the MMR and chickenpox vaccines are given at the age of one,” she explained, adding that some children autistic people would have difficulty reaching “standard” developmental milestones for that age. and that people wrongly associate this with vaccines.

Vaccines are a crucial health strategy to achieve herd or population immunity ― term used to describe when the majority of people become immune to a disease. This provides a level of protection to community members who cannot get vaccinated or those who are at higher risk.

“I like to emphasize that when you get vaccinated, you’re not only taking care of your health but (also) the health of those around you,” Dumford said. “Using COVID or the flu as an example, if you are young and healthy, your case will likely be mild. However, if you pass it to an elderly loved one, or someone with a weakened immune system or pre-existing heart or lung problems, they can get a very serious case.

Although misinformation around vaccines can make it difficult to separate fact from fiction, Lee sees political interest in vaccines as a potential way to “better engage the public in public health decisions.”

If you’re still not comfortable about getting vaccinated, experts agree that you should seek the advice of a board-certified physician who can guide you in making informed health care decisions. health and answer all your questions.

“If you don’t think you need the vaccine for yourself, give it to your new niece, grandmother or uncle who has a weakened immune system due to cancer treatment,” Lee concluded. “You never know how many lives you can save by not transmitting a contagious disease. »