The Ridiculousness of the Antivaccine Movement

“This is the world without one vaccine”

Ever since the appearance of the smallpox vaccine in 1796, the first one ever created, the anti-vaccine movement has been rampant with arguments. Nowadays, this group concentrates mainly in the US and argues that vaccines shouldn’t be mandatory for the general population. Some say they can cause autism and argue that their opinion should be respected, supporting their position by calling to the figure of “free speech”. This group consists mainly of civilians without degrees in medicine or research who use the internet as their main source. However, the evidence is undeniable: vaccines are necessary, extremely useful, and a privilege. Ignorance moves this movement, as an incomprehension of the works and effects of vaccines is evidenced in their arguments. Here we present some.

"Vaccines cause autoimmune disorders, asthma, and allergies."

A major part of anti-vaccine “activists” base their actions and beliefs solely on personal experience. A lot of them assure that right after receiving a shot, they developed a certain condition like arthritis or that their children suddenly got autism. However, the connection made between these diseases and a certain vaccine is unjustified. Not one single large-scale study has shown that vaccines increase the risk of autoimmune disorders or allergies. Even though the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) has been associated to cases of idiopathic thrombocytopenia, an autoimmune disorder, several studies agree that the frequency of such disease in vaccinated children (1 in 30,000) is much lower than that observed in children that contract rubella (1 in 3,000) or measles (1 in 6,000). A risk evaluation must be done when deciding to take in any kind of medication. Think about this: when choosing between a surgery that is 99.66% successful and

contracting a dreadful disease, what would you choose? Anti-vaxxers also associate the Hepatitis B vaccine with multiple sclerosis. However, two large scale studies have concluded that this belief is unfounded.

"Natural immunity is better"

Nowadays, a lot of deadly diseases have been eradicated by the use of vaccines. For example, it is very hard to get measles in a context where it simply doesn’t affect the majority of the population. However, it is still very important to get vaccinated to keep these somewhat safe conditions as not everybody can actively deal with the disease. Those who are immunocompromised and can’t get vaccinated rely in what is called herd immunity and simply hope that those around them are protected enough to stop spreading what might affect them. Choosing to vaccinate is also a matter of public health.

No argument in favor of vaccines is better than what is going on right now. We are living in a world that is 100% exposed to a virus that can affect absolutely everyone. How much would we give for a Coronavirus vaccine right now? Anti-vaxxers tend to forget what the world was like before the solution came along. This is the world without one vaccine. Is it logical to keep arguing for less?

By Sofía Prada Ávila, 10A