Source: http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/microbes-and-the-human-body/vaccination
The anti vaccination movement seem to be on the rise with various articles posted on news portals, websites and social media networks. As a medical doctor, this is very worrying. I strongly feel that this needs to be addressed before more parents make the wrong decision and endanger the life of their children.
Despite many research stating that vaccines are safe, there are still people who believe that vaccination causes harm to children and even more preposterous, a conspiracy of the Jews. Vaccines are created as early as 1930s and have been used globally to prevent many serious diseases. This is a proven fact by the World Health Organization (WHO). The public need to understand the basics of immunology and concept of vaccination before deciding to believe it is harmful.
Immunity is the ability of the body to mount a response against a disease. It is divided into passive (natural and artificial) and active (natural and artificial). Passive immunity is when ‘ready-made’ antibodies are passed to the body, for example, through breastfeeding (natural) or administration of immunoglobulins for certain diseases (artificial). Active immunity is when the body reacts to a specific antigen and produces antibodies to fight the disease. For example, chicken pox infection (natural) and vaccination (artificial).
Vaccination is given to help the body to produce specific antibodies to various life threatening diseases. There are different types of vaccines.
1. An inactivated vaccine; the virus or bacteria are grown in the lab but killed or deactivated. The virus or bacteria is dead but components of it remain and this stimulates the body to produce antibodies.
2. Live attenuated vaccines; these are live virus or bacteria but with low virulence. They will replicate in the body but at a very slow rate, therefore allowing the body to continuously produce antibodies.
By understanding this basic concept, you will realize that immunity is based on an internal body response and whilst healthy living and eating help, only specific antibodies will fight a disease. For example, in the case of Polio virus infection, no amount of healthy eating is going to prevent the disease. Only vaccination will.
The anti vaccination movement gained popularity after a doctor named Andrew Wakefield produced a study in 1998 in which he claimed that there was a link between the triple vaccination of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and a new form of autism called autistic enterocolitis (bowel inflammation). His study claimed to show a link, not a cause. It was published in the medical journal The Lancet. Soon, it was revealed that Wakefield did not follow the ethics board’s regulations in his study. The UK medical council later investigated him for various charges; taking money from lawyers preparing a class action suit against MMR vaccination manufacturers, not getting approval from the UK ethics boards and subjecting his patients to unnecessary invasive procedures like colonoscopies and spinal taps.
The UK medical council found him guilty of all charges and Wakefield was struck off the medical register. His co-authors and The Lancet subsequently retracted the paper and declared it a hoax. Since then, various other studies have been done to try to find a direct cause between vaccinations and autism, but none has been discovered so far. Andrew Wakefield is no longer a practicing medical doctor. His ‘new’ diagnosis of autistic enterocolitis was never true and no other cases have been reported.
A notable detail is that Wakefield only discouraged the administration of the triple MMR vaccine; he still continued to advocate single, separate doses vaccinations. Vaccinations also help in herd immunity, which is somewhat like a firewall against the spread of diseases. With a higher percentage of the population vaccinated, the RISK of the disease spreading is lower. So if parents do not allow vaccination of their children, they are indirectly helping the disease to spread, endangering the lives of others, especially in immunocompromised individuals (people with low immunity).
Hence, with all these proven studies that vaccinations help in protecting people (children especially, as they are most vulnerable during their young age), and no proven studies to show vaccinations cause harm, I strongly advise parents and parents-to-be, to vaccinate their child. I cannot stress this enough.
Please don’t get me wrong, like most things in life, vaccines too come with a certain risk for adverse reactions. Medical professionals weigh this risk vs benefit before giving the proper advice to parents. This is what we hope to do. To provide correct and reliable information so that parents can make a more informed decision.
I leave you with this final question; would you risk the life of your child on a theory that has no scientific proof or would you rather choose a proven scientific method to prevent serious diseases infecting your child?
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Medical Gazette.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]
Thank you for your informative article on the importance of vaccination Dr Khoo. I had given my daughter all the important vaccines including some of the not compulsory ones like the Chicken pox vaccine etc.
She tolerated them well but i remember my nephew had an adverse reaction to the TB vaccine when he was a baby. His both armpits were swollen and we were referred to the TB centre at Jalan Pahang. The health officer there assured us that the swelling will subside on its own and it did after a few weeks.
I am eagerly waiting for the Dengue vaccine. Hope it will be available soon so that we can eliminate the deadly disease soon!
Hello Mr Kumar,
Thank you for the reply. Yes, vaccines can cause certain reactions and most of them are harmless. Good to know that your nephew is alright.
Regards.