World Health Day Spotlight: The Importance of Vaccination

There’s a lot of controversy and questions surrounding vaccines. Should I vaccinate my children? Should I get the flu shot? Is it safe to receive a vaccine while pregnant? Do I need additional vaccinations if traveling globally? Do vaccines cause long term side effects?

Even with scientific-based answers to these questions and strong measures of safety protocol in place, fears and concerns remain. However, no matter one’s position on the topic, the data is overwhelmingly clear—vaccines save lives and have reduced preventable infectious diseases to an all-time low.1

The History of Vaccines

In 1798, the first vaccine was developed by Edward Jenner from cowpox pustules to provide protection against smallpox. This vaccine eventually led to the global eradication of smallpox in 1979. Historians estimate2 that smallpox had been around for 3,000 years prior. It was a deadly disease that killed roughly 3 out of 10 people who contracted it.

Over the years, many more vaccines followed that have nearly eradicated and/or prevented many deadly diseases3:

  • 1885: Rabies vaccine developed

  • 1896: Cholera and typhoid vaccines developed

  • 1897: Plague vaccine developed

  • 1915: Pertussis vaccine licensed

  • 1923: Diphtheria toxoid licensed

  • 1945: Influenza vaccine licensed

  • 1953: Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids licensed

  • 1955: Polio vaccine licensed

  • 1963: Live virus measles vaccine licensed

  • 1967: Mumps virus vaccine licensed

  • 1969: Three rubella virus vaccine strains licensed

  • 1977: Pneumococcal vaccine licensed

  • 1978: Yellow fever vaccine licensed

  • 1981: Hepatitis B viral vaccines licensed

  • 1995: Inactivated hepatitis A vaccine licensed

  • 2006: Vaccine to prevent cervical cancer licensed

  • 2019: Ebola vaccine licensed

  • 2020: COVID-19 vaccine granted EUA

How Vaccines Work

Different types of vaccines work in different ways. The general concept, however, is that vaccines help you develop immunity without first contracting the virus. Your body develops a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes as well as B-lymphocytes in reaction to the vaccine that causes your body to fight and/or destroy the virus should you come into contact with it in the future.4

Vaccine Safety Protocol

The U.S. has a long-standing vaccine safety system, making our vaccine supply the most effective and safest in history. Through rigorous review of data by scientists and doctors in both vaccine development, manufacturing, and clinical trials, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures the safety, efficacy, purity and potency of vaccines before they’re licensed and made available to the public. Because rare adverse events can sometimes present themselves with larger vaccinated populations outside of clinical trials, the FDA continually monitors for these events after a vaccine is licensed.1,5

These are the steps taken in vaccine development to ensure safety:5

  1. Vaccine development begins in a laboratory. If it shows potential, it’s usually then tested in animals. If a vaccine is shown safe in animals and suggests that it will be safe for people, clinical trials begin on people who volunteer to receive the vaccine.

  2. Phase 1 clinical trials include 20-100 healthy volunteers and focus on safety.

  3. If no serious adverse events are found in phase 1, phase 2 clinical trials begin. They include several hundred volunteers and focus on the size of dosage and vaccine effectiveness.

  4. If no serious side effects are found in phase 1 or 2, phase 3 trials begin. They include hundreds or thousands of volunteers. Some people are given a placebo and some are given the real vaccine in order for researchers to learn more about the vaccine’s effectiveness, safety, and identify common side effects.

  5. If trials and all other data show that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the potential risks, the FDA will grant a license for the vaccine and allow it to be given to the public.

  6. The FDA continues to monitor the vaccine for adverse events.

Why Getting Vaccinated Is Important

Here are some important reasons for you and your children to get vaccinated6:

  • Vaccines protect you and your children from preventable diseases that can cause serious illness and complications such as amputation, hospitalization, pneumonia, hearing loss, convulsions, brain damage, and even death.

  • Vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and influenza continue to infect U.S. children, resulting in hospitalizations and deaths every year.

  • Though several infectious diseases have declined in the U.S. due to vaccines, many diseases are still common in other countries. Children could become infected by a traveler coming into the U.S. or traveling themselves outside of the U.S.

  • Preventable disease outbreaks occur when many parents decide against vaccinating their children.

  • Vaccination protects vulnerable populations that can’t receive vaccines such as younger children and people with weakened immune systems.

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in strong support of vaccinating and protecting children with recommended vaccinations.

On this World Health Day, it’s important to understand the importance of vaccinations and how they’ve drastically decreased disease. Vaccinations are safe, highly regulated, highly monitored, and highly effective. If you have additional vaccination questions or concerns, talk to your doctor.

BioMatrix is dedicated to help prevent, treat, and cure chronic disease. Click here to learn more.

References

  1. FDA. Vaccines. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines

  2. CDC. History of Smallpox. https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html

  3. Immunization Action Coalition. Vaccine Timeline. https://www.immunize.org/timeline/

  4. CDC. Understanding How COVID-19 Vaccines Work. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/how-they-work.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fvaccines%2Fabout-vaccines%2Fhow-they-work.html

  5. FDA. Ensuring the Safety of Vaccines in the United States. https://www.fda.gov/files/vaccines,%20blood%20&%20biologics/published/Ensuring-the-Safety-of-Vaccines-in-the-United-States.pdf

  6. The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC). Importance of Vaccines. https://vaccineinformation.org/vaccines-save-lives/

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