How Vaccines Work
The Basic Principle
- Vaccines train your immune systemⓘ
- After vaccination, your body remembers how to fight that disease
- If exposed later, your immune system responds quickly
- Immunological memoryⓘ
Types of Vaccines
- Live attenuatedⓘ
- Inactivatedⓘ
- Subunit/proteinⓘ
- mRNAⓘ
Safety and Efficacy
Extensive Testing
- COVID vaccines underwent rigorous testing[7]
- Vaccines go through multiple phases of clinical trials
- Continued monitoring after approval
- Rare side effects are tracked and reported
Common Concerns Addressed
Myth: Vaccines cause autism
Reality: This claim originated from a fraudulent study that was retracted. The doctor lost his medical license. Dozens of large studies have found no link.
Reality: This claim originated from a fraudulent study that was retracted. The doctor lost his medical license. Dozens of large studies have found no link.
Myth: Natural immunity is always better
Reality: Some diseases can kill or cause permanent damage before immunity develops. Vaccine immunity is much safer for most conditions.
Reality: Some diseases can kill or cause permanent damage before immunity develops. Vaccine immunity is much safer for most conditions.
Myth: Too many vaccines overwhelm the immune system
Reality: Babies encounter thousands of antigens daily just by breathing and eating. Vaccines contain far fewer antigens than natural environment.
Reality: Babies encounter thousands of antigens daily just by breathing and eating. Vaccines contain far fewer antigens than natural environment.
Misinformation
Why Its Hard to Combat
- Misinformation persists in memory even after correction[8]
- Conspiracy thinking correlates with vaccine hesitancy[9]
- Once beliefs form, they're resistant to change
What Works
- Correcting misinformation doesn't always backfire[10]
- Both scientific data and personal stories can be effective[11]
- Trusted sources matter more than perfect arguments
Herd Immunity
The Concept
- Herd immunityⓘ
- Threshold varies by disease: measles needs 95% immunity, flu needs lessⓘ
- Vaccination decisions affect others, not just yourself[14]
Who Depends on It
- Infants too young to be vaccinated
- People with weakened immune systems
- People who can't receive certain vaccines
- Those for whom vaccines didn't workⓘ
Vaccine Hesitancy
Its Complicated
- Hesitancy has many causes[16]
- Some concerns are legitimate (wanting more information)
- Others stem from misinformation
- Access and convenience also play roles
Building Trust
- Acknowledge concerns without validating misinformation
- Provide clear, honest information about both benefits and risks
- Dont be dismissive—that backfires
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References
- Juul S, et al. (2022). Vaccines to prevent COVID-19: A living systematic review with Trial Sequential Analysis. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Pluviano S, et al. (2017). Misinformation lingers in memory: Failure of three pro-vaccination strategies. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Romer D, et al. (2022). On the relationship between conspiracy theory beliefs, misinformation, and vaccine hesitancy. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Swire-Thompson B, et al. (2023). Correcting vaccine misinformation: A failure to replicate familiarity or fear-based backfire effects. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Vanderslott S, et al. (2021). The effects of scientific messages and narratives about vaccination. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Bohm R, et al. (2020). Herd immunity and a vaccination game: An experimental study. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
- Wagner AL, et al. (2022). Understanding determinants of vaccine hesitancy and acceptance in India. PLOS ONE. [DOI]