The Reality Behind Vaccines
Some people think vaccines are safe to use, and they are completely correct.
The goal of vaccines is to create immunity to certain diseases. The first vaccine was created by Edward Jenner in 1796. This stemmed from a simple discovery of his, handmaids that had caught cowpox would never contract smallpox. Cowpox isn’t really dangerous, while smallpox often kills. He tested this on an eight year old boy by first giving him cowpox and a few weeks later giving him fluid from somebody with smallpox. They boy did not get smallpox, so morals aside, it was success. [1]
How the Immune System Works
To first understand how vaccines work, you must understand the problem they are helping to solve.
Bacteria and viruses love to get into our body, in fact we have more bacterial cells in our body than human ones. This means that inevitably, some will harm us in some way. These organisms, called pathogens, are encountered everyday. Luckily body has developed a system to help combat these unwanted pathogens. This system is called the immune system. [2]
The Immune system is run by different types of white blood cells. The first step involved the Macrophage. The Macrophage engulfs any cell or debris it finds that does not have specific proteins pertaining to healthy human cells on its surface. After engulfing the cell left over pieces called antigens are leftover. These antigens are identified as dangerous and the body then attacks them using other cells.
Antibodies are just as important, it's almost impossible to stop infections without them. They are created by cells called B-cells. These B-cells are either dedicated to creating antibodies, or dedicated to remembering antigens for future use. Antibodies come in many different forms, but they all have one purpose. This purpose is to attach to specific proteins. These proteins (almost always) belong to pathogens. This allows pathogens to be easily noticed by other white blood cells. Without these antibodies many types of pathogens can go unnoticed throughout your body. Antibodies also inhibit the pathogens by blocking interaction with other cells and slowing/stopping movement.
We also have T-lymphocytes, sometimes called T-cells. These cells are designed to attack infected human cells. The T-cells come in two different variates, a helper T-cell and a killer T-cell. The helper “scans” cells to determine if they are infected, and if they are the Killer T-cells are alerted and kill the specified cell. These cells are responsible for most autoimmune disorders. [3][4][5]
The Need for Vaccines
The immune system works well to stop any pathogen that has been encountered before, but if it hasn't there likely be no antigens made. With no antigens there will be no antibodies. With no antibodies, a disease can roam your body freely. It often takes days to build up any sort of immunity. This window of opportunity can be deadly. This puts us in a tricky situation, we can’t expose ourselves to a pathogen with permanent effects, but we can’t protect ourselves from it without exposing ourselves to it.
Vaccines are a way around that. Exposing ourselves to a weakened pathogen or another one similar enough, can still give us an immunity. That doesn’t happen safely often in the wild, so we must do it ourselves.
There are multiple types of vaccines, each is equipped to fight a specific set of pathogens.
These vaccines are specialized in the immunization of viral diseases. This type of vaccine involves putting a “live”, but weakened virus inside the body. This usually is no trouble for the body to fight off, but in some cases where a person has a weakened immune system this type of vaccine should be avoided. This type of vaccine is used for: measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox).
Inactivated vaccines use “dead” viruses. This type is often used for more dangerous viruses. It often takes multiple doses to build up an immunity, because the immune response is weaker with dead pathogens. This type is most commonly used with Polio.
Toxoid vaccines are designed to provide immunity from bacteria that produce toxins. These toxins are weakened so the immune system can learn to deal with them. One example of this is the DTaP vaccine, which contains diphtheria and tetanus toxoids.
Subunit vaccines use only parts of the virus or bacteria. The only parts contained are the ones needed for the body to create the correct antigens. This decreases the chance of any side effects. One example of this vaccine is the pertussis (whooping cough) component of the DTaP vaccine.
Conjugate vaccines use a different type of bacteria as a substitute. This is so that young children’s immune systems can get used to polysaccharides, a sugar-like coating on the outside of the antigen. This disguises it and the body needs to learn to read it. One example of this type of vaccine is the Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine. [6]
The other Components of Vaccines
Vaccines do contain chemicals outside of the just the pathogen. Each of these has a reason for being inside the vaccine.
Aluminum comes as either a gel or a salt. It is used to stimulate the immune system so that it responds quicker to the pathogen, increasing the amount of antigens produce and lessening the chance that the pathogen can spread farther than intended. The total amount of aluminum that a baby receives from vaccines is 4 milligrams (4 one thousandths of a gram). In this time period breast milk gives them 40 milligrams, and if soy milk alternative is used 120 milligrams.
Either way the majority of it is taken out by the kidney in less than a day.
[7]
Some vaccines contain Antibiotics, to prevent the spread of the pathogen. You get hundreds of times more Antibiotics from drinking water daily. (A ton of that runs off into the environment from farmers and causes problems, and it isn’t even needed.)
Some vaccines are prepared using chicken eggs. This is because the easiest and safest way to get some pathogens to replicate is to use eggs. This includes the influenza and yellow fever vaccines. The amount is small enough that people with allergies to eggs are almost always fine. (Although if you are severely allergic you should do it in the presence of a healthcare provider that can recognize and respond to any severe reactions.) [8]
Formaldehyde is used to inactivate toxins in toxoid vaccines and to prevent unwanted bacterial and viral growth. Most of it is removed before packaging, but small amounts remain. Formaldehyde is essential in DNA replication and already exists in the human body. About 1.5 times the amount found in any given vaccine is in an infant's body. Animals have been safely given amounts over 600 times that in a vaccine. The DNA replication process is the same, so it is completely safe.[9]
Monosodium glutamate (and sometimes 2-phenoxy-ethanol) are used as stabilizers. They prevent the vaccine from becoming charged when exposed to light or heat. MSG is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, which is a non-essential amino acid. That means our body already makes it. It is also often found in food.
Studies have shown that too much of it is bad for mice, but it turns out mice are just overly sensitive to it. They can only intake about 1.8 grams per kilogram body weight, but over 6 grams a day per kilogram of body weight is considered safe in humans. Either way a cup of breast milk contains over 900 times the amount found in a vaccine and the safe daily intake is over 32 thousand times the amount found in a vaccine.[10]
The last chemical found in a vaccine is Thimerosal. Thimerosal contains a mercury outer coating and is used to prevent vaccine containers with multiple doses from becoming contaminated (single dose containers, which are becoming more common, do not have this). This mercury is both chemically inert, and in extremely small quantities, 1 part in 100,000 to 1 part in 10,000. In your typical vaccine the amount of mercury is equal to the amount in an average 3oz can of tuna. Also there have been an entire body of scientific studies about the effects of thimerosal, it has no measureable effect whatsoever. [11]
Also it's not really used in modern vaccines anyway.
Vaccines are safe and needed to keep society from getting killed by diseases. I will probably make a follow up post on how herd immunity works, just to cement the idea.
also its not just "some people" its literally every single doctor in the world lmao
This is a super important post, even if only to have a voice of reason in the mix. It's astounding the degree to which anti-science material gets posted on this medium - sometimes even in the "science" tab!
I've been here about two weeks and I've already seen $200+ dollar posts on topics including alien abductions, climate change denial and, of course, anti-vaxxer material.
The climate change deniers I can understand a little. They are being told something is happening, but it isn't having a huge effect on many of their day to day lives yet, and many of them rely on industries which would/will be disrupted by a global shift away from fossil fuels. In general that is going to be a painful transition for most, and insofar as people hate personal suffering, I get why they might turn to wishful thinking on the topic.
But anti-vaxxers upset me more than anything. Not only does their opinion endanger rational, vaccinated people by disrupting herd immunity, but anti-vaxxers make their decisions based on pure ignorance "empirically proven" by word of mouth conspiracy theories.
Anti-Vaxxers ignore, completely, the greatest body of living proof anyone could possibly ask for - their own un-mutilated, un-crippled, un-scarred, disease free bodies, in numbers heretofore unheard of in human history. And in the face of this continuing miracle, they willfully chose to take on an "alternative narrative" which endangers children and the elderly the most.
As I said, I'm new here, and my feed is still developing into its perfect self. I'm happy to add you onto it.
This might be the most uninformed, full of fallacies, comment I've ever read.
Mine or tommy's?
tommy is among the more level headed people on Steemit.
Half of your comment is name calling, or ad hominem, the other half is one sort of appeal to fallacy or another. You give no evidence for why calling people names is proof of you being right.
Anti-science, climate change denier, anti-vaxx, wishful thinkers, and people who make decisions based on conspiracy theories, none of this is shown to be true with any evidence, only your word that you have any idea what you are talking about.
Where do I start? Climate change is real, humans didn't do it.
Vaccines are archaic, we don't need their unpredictable results. Herd immunity has been demonstrated to not work, time and again, by outbreaks that spread among vaccinated people. Your accusation of 'anti-vaxxers' endangering anyone is based on nothing.
I have zero evidence that aliens exist. If they do, I don't think they're in the neighborhood.
I'd be willing to discuss any of this with you provided the name calling stops. It's boring, and it's not an argument.
I think it's important to have a dialogue - but I get the sense this one is going to be detailed - which I would like. I think you've taken umbrage with the characterization by me of large swaths of individuals as "anti-vaxxers" and "climate change deniers" I'm assuming that's what you mean by name calling, and if so, I apologize if it was offensive in any way.
As for a substantive conversation - let's put that on hold until post 4th of July - I've got a long drive tomorrow morning and need to get to sleep. But again, I am not shirking from the conversation - I think it's important to try to have it.
Which science experiment has any validity without a control group? How would we know if or how well vaccines work if we are forcing people to vaccinate? Shouldn't we clear a couple of islands and let people go unvaccinated through generations there so that we can really talk about the impact of vaccines?
The control group is a number of unvaccinated populations in "third world" countries over the last sixty years - those are the populations where polio lingered, and years ago where smallpox still existed. These "control" groups suffered intensely for the lack of vaccines and, at the time, when they were dying of polio or small pox while it was eradicated around the rest of the world, I'm sure people took the time to compare.
I'm sorry but I'm not buying it. I come from a third world country and I was forced to vaccinate, everyone I know was forced to vaccinate.
Well, as far as smallpox is concerned, you would not have been exposed to the risk unless you were born before 1977 when the last recorded case was seen in Somalia.
As of 2017, because of mass vaccination, the only four places where there is even a tiny amount of polio are Afghanistan, Pakistan, the DRC and Syria.
But, if you want to go through the decline of polio to near zero in the last 15 years thanks to mass vaccinations, check out this resource from WHO
So you really think it's safe not to have control groups? What kind of science is that?
Of course not - new vaccines obviously go through rigorous clinical testing before being allowed on the market. This would include use of all appropriate clinical processes, including controls.
My point to you before was only to show that the efficacy of vaccination as a tool for the prevention of certain diseases is proven, utterly and completely, by the literal eradication of several terrible diseases in the real world. And, during the process of those diseases being eliminated by use of vaccination, there were portions of the population on earth who did not get the vaccinations first and who therefore became a point of reference to compare the efficacy of the vaccines in the real world.
Temporary control groups that is, we need to know what the difference is over generations.
I always remember this chart when I think about the vaccine debate (sourced from vaclib.org). The decline rate and plateau shows the efficacy. Cheers
I cant believe there is even a debate! Its like a debate about the world being flat! We have a tool here that can save millions of lives, yet people still wont use it! Madness.
It blows my mind! I understand maybe a few cases where vaccines caused a worse problem then the disease, but come on people lol...
Agreed. We seem to have reached a point in human evolution where people are adamant we are over evolved and need to go backwards!
People will hear about 1 incident and all hell will break loose. Then their kid dies because of damn beliefs. Blame the media also for overhyping the shit out of everything.
Appeal to fear and appeal to probability are not valid arguments.
'Come on' is not an argument.
Please see @marymg2014 "Flux vaccine and a real life adverse reaction"
Also @canadian-coconut with many posts of vaccine info.
Thank you.
yeah they really are amazing
I long for the days of the 1900's, I got so many more younger visitors then.
Yeah, until the popular adoption of hygiene and sanitation the death rate was out of control. Don't worry though, vaccine damage should make up for some of your losses.
Thank you for your Post, as a father of two little boys, it infuriates me to no end how the ignorance of some people don't wanting to vaccinate their kids put mine at risks as well as others.
I'll give you a follow, keep the posts incoming, check out my posts if you have time and please do comment :)
Please see @marymg2014 "Flux vaccine and a real life adverse reaction"
@canadian-coconut - much info about vaccines.
Thank you.
As a vaccine damage survivor I am appalled by your ignorance.
How exactly do you know the damage you are referring to is directly caused by the vaccine you got?
Because I was there. I was in seventh grade. I knew the state of my health the day before, and the day after. I remember the day, the blackouts, and the sudden overload caused by normal, everyday stimuli. The first blackout was less than an hour after the vaccination. I never had a blackout before that day.
I don't need a peer reviewed, double blind, clinical trial to tell me that water is good for putting out fires.
Correlation does not imply causation.
Cliche does not imply that you know what logic is.
Why are your kids at risk if they are vaccinated?
See info below.
The research is quite clear on vaccinations they are safe, thimerosal is safe (enough) and not used in modern vaccines anyway, and they are not linked in any way to autism.
Nice work @anarchyhasnogods about time people talk some sense on this issue around here. Anyone telling any of you otherwise is anti science, anti health, and doing the world harm with their spreading of a very dangerous, and horribly incorrect message.
How can there be research without long term control groups? What kind of science is that?
None of these authority lovers can be reasoned with, your efforts are wasted on them.
I wish you good luck, should you choose to continue. Thank you for trying.
What?
How would you know about the long term effects of vaccines in humans without a control group mating over generations without taking vaccines? If there is a control group I'd like to know about it.
Why would anyone want that? In what way would multiple generations be relevant? Like there is some sort of genetic factor (there is not). What sort of control group do you want, people who are not vaccinated are the control group. You know, the ones dying from preventable infectious disease. We can add people with immune systems too weak to tolerate vaccination as an additional control. Why is it, do you think, that they need to be isolated from society? Perhaps its because they will die upon exposure to the diseases that those who are against vaccination are allowing to creep back into society.
Is not about wants but needs.
What? How can you speak about science and ask that question? Don't you know that we breed rats over many generations to measure the effects of developing drugs, why do you think that is?
The unvaccinated currently are not a control group because they are not being studied, instead they are being pressured to vaccinate and accused of being anti-science and irresponsible.
It's an irrelevant request. Vaccines have been studied to death, the amount of work published on them is staggering. If your so obsessed over rat generational studies then go read about any of a variety of vaccines tested upon rats and deemed safe. Surely those generational breeding studies are fine? Probably not, because if it's not that then it's something else.
The antivax movement is irresponsible. It's not an accusation, it's verifiable fact. Really in this case those who refuse to vaccinate are being outright negligent and should be held accountable when an immuno compromised individual dies from an infection they brought around (they can't be, because you could never prove who is actually the responsible party, plus it could be a childs fault, and you can't blame a child for their parents destructive actions). Refusing to vaccinate is wilfully allowing diseases to harm others.
Anti science, anti health, unsafe, irresponsible, reckless behavior.
If rats are good enough why don't we just jump straight from testing on rats to the market?
This is not even about vaccines alone, we are not carrying out long term studies on anything really. That doesn't mean nothing works, it just means we really don't know if they do or how they really do.
I'm not supporting the refusal to get vaccinated, I am rallying for honesty. If we don't do long term studies then we can't really call it science.
@@ -335,17 +335,16 @@
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Kids die every year because of conspiracy theorist crackpot parents. Just vaccinate your children.
purest ignorance
Exactly!
Reading the title terrified me...
"No, not @anarchyhasnogods! I always thought them a person of intellect!"
Then I read it and I was glad to see an excellent overview of vaccines.
I am very glad that my initial reaction was wrong!
sometimes you just need to grab peoples attention for something important lol
The thing people (especially parents) need to realise is that would you rather have your child contract hepatitis or any other deadly disease, or suffer the wrath of the vaccine which has mostly not affected anyone and has no proof of doing any harm to one's body. Great article
Thanks for explaining how our immunity works. Many people doubt vaccines but I also believe they are rather safe.
Thank you for this amazin post on vaccines - It is sad how many people are uninformed and danger our whole community by not accepting them. Yesterday I wrote an article myself about the big psychological problem many seem to have with vaccines. Maybe some will get some help out of this story:
https://steemit.com/health/@theaustrianguy/the-big-psychological-dilemma-about-the-side-effects-of-vaccines
What do you think about my little story?
I followed you, maybe you want to do the same :)
Greets from an aspiring doctor who will probably learn a lot from your posts!
So important! For instance, if a baby is too young to be vaccinated, they're at risk of death if they catch a diseases from non-vaccinated person. Diseases we can and should have under control, if only everyone would vaccinate. So irresponsible not to vaccinate your kids!