To Immunise, or not to Immunise?

To immunise or not to immunise?  That is the question.  And once you have forgiven me for shamelessly ripping off Shakespeare, you might actually think it is a very important question.  Given that most of the stuff I write about I normally have quite a strong opinion on, I am going to buck the trend here.  I am going to be as neutral as Switzerland and sit right atop the fence.

Why?  Simple.  Because that is where I genuinely feel I belong.  I fully respect an individuals choice to choose whether they are immunised or not.  Yes, I have made a personal choice as to whether I and my children are immunised (and I will tell you at the end) but I don't feel as though I must be right and others should follow suit.  It is a personal choice and people should be free to make up their own minds.  However, I do believe your decision should be made based upon an informed opinion.

You might also ask why I decided to write about this if I am not that passionate about it?  Well I was on a CIDP forum the other day and some one asked the question of how did you get CIDP.  For a lot of people, like me, we have theories, but it is still a mystery.  However, some people are convinced that it was from a reaction to a vaccine.

Which does make sense.  A vaccine is supposed to alter the immune system.  If something goes slightly astray during the process, the immune system might incorrectly teach itself to attack itself.  So I loosely studied the effects of vaccines when my doctor recommended I get a flu shot and made my decision from there, but given the topic thread in the forum I decided to investigate further.

The main arguments against vaccinations are first, they don't work, and second, they can cause other problems.  Problems can be mild and include, rash, mild fever, nausea or aches.  They can also be major, like severe allergic reaction or an autoimmune disease.  They have also been related to mental health disorders like autism, schizophrenia and depression.

Let me briefly argue for both sides.  I'll take the pro immunisation side first.  Vaccination has a pretty impressive rap sheet.  It has beer responsible for the elimination of smallpox, is very close to eradicating polio and has significantly decreased the potential for diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis, flu etc.  Or has it?

Another big plus for the pro immunisation lobby is that most governments and medical professionals will sing the praises of vaccinations.  Check out the following link from the US department of health and human services who have found yet another angle to promote the benefits of vaccination.

Community Immunity

However, you have to remember that doctors have been wrong in the past and they will be wrong again.  The question is are they wrong now?  As for the government they will come at you with 1001 different statistics to promote their message.  Anyone that has studied statistics knows that they can be illustrated in different ways to either confirm or counter an argument.  So are they just using propaganda to avoid potential mass hysteria in regards to potential epidemics, or do they have a legitimate health concern?  You decide.

And now the anti immunisation argument.  As with any drug that you might take, vaccinations are not immune from side effects, and the more minor side effects are listed by the drug companies.  But this is not the issue.  Mild short term side effects may be a small price to pay if you receive a long term immunity from a potentially debilitating or fatal illness.

The issue is the major side effects.  There have been a few high profile cases of autism potentially caused by a vaccine, such as the ones cited by Andrew Wakefield in a 1998 issue of the Lancet.  However, these claims were partially retracted in 2004 by the Lancet, and Andrew Wakefield was found guilty of manipulating evidence and ethical code violations.

When it comes to autoimmune diseases, there is strong evidence that vaccination may have been a cause.  But another source of autoimmune disease is the disease that the vaccine is trying to protect us from.  Apparently, you are much more likely to contract an autoimmune disease from a virus than a vaccine.  For example, peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed in about 10% of all diphtheria cases, and a major trigger for Crohn's disease is the flu.  The following journal is an interesting look at vaccines and autoimmune diseases.

Vaccination and Autoimmune Disease

Anti vaccination lobbyists would also have you believe that vaccinations are ineffective.  In the book titled "Fooling Ourselves", by Greg Beattie, many arguments are put up and illustrated with statistics as to why vaccinations simply don't work, including the graph below:

The graph showing cases of diphtheria in Australia between 1870 and 1970, clearly shows that the disease had stopped killing people before the vaccine was introduced.  And all the credit the vaccine took was misplaced, and the real hero was proper hygiene, better health care and antibiotics.  But what it fails to illustrate is the number of cases contracted and successfully treated.  We learnt how to stop people dying from diphtheria, but we don't know how effective the vaccine was in stopping people contracting the disease in the first place.

The argument for both sides can be validated and rebutted.  What is important is that you decide which argument resonates better with you and act upon that.  I think bigger arguments are whether governments should be allowed to insist that people should be vaccinated in order to be eligible to work in certain jobs, children must be immunised to attend schools or people must be immunised in order to enter a country are much bigger issues.

Well now, what have I done?  I have chosen to be immunised.  Personally I think that although there is a slight risk of the vaccine, there is a much bigger risk of the diseases they are trying to protect us from. But that is my choice.  You too should make your own.  Until next time, stay well:)