Dispelling Myths and Misconceptions About Vaccines

1. You should be vaccinated only if you’re traveling to faraway places

Vaccine-preventable diseases may be less common in your country, but they can quickly spread and infect vulnerable people, especially in this age of easy travel.

Those who can get vaccinated should do so to protect pregnant women and those with certain diseases who are not able to get vaccinated.

2. Vaccination is your personal decision

Yes, getting vaccinated is a personal decision. So is covering your mouth while coughing on a crowded bus or calling 911 when your neighbor's house is on fire. We are all connected and when children are not vaccinated, the whole community is at risk.

3. Vaccines are toxic

No, this is not true. Vaccines are safe, saving millions of lives a year. If they contained dangerous ingredients, they would not be recommended by public health organizations and would not be prescribed by doctors.

4. Vaccinations are unnatural

Because vaccines do not grow on trees, they must be unnatural, right? Wrong. Do you think measles and pneumonia are natural?

5. I know best what my child needs

Yes, you know better than anyone. And that's why you need to know that vaccines can save children's lives.

6. Vaccine distribution organizations are involved in the pharmaceutical business

Wouldn't organizations make more money treating these diseases rather than preventing them?

7. Vaccines cause autism

Absolutely not! Thousands of studies have refuted this claim.

8. Vaccines cause infertility

Thousands of studies have been conducted regarding this claim, but none of them have found that vaccines cause infertility.

9. I am not against vaccination. I'm in favor of safe vaccination.

Vaccinations these days are more than just safe—they save lives!

10. But vaccinated people also get infected, so vaccines are useless.

It is assumed that since vaccines are not 100 percent effective, they are not effective at all. Not true! Vaccines are 100 percent effective, but 5-10 percent of people do not develop immunity, even after being vaccinated. In fact, the higher the number of people vaccinated, the lower the number of infected people.