How to Educate Others on the Importance of Immunization
Explain what immunization is.Before getting a vaccine or agreeing that vaccines are important, people must understand what a vaccine is and how it works., Illustrate that Immunization is safe.Much of the anxiety and confusion surrounding vaccination...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Explain what immunization is.Before getting a vaccine or agreeing that vaccines are important
Clarify the difference between three related terms: vaccine, vaccination, and immunization.A vaccine is the medical product (usually in the form of a shot) that protects against certain diseases.
Vaccinations are created using dead or weakened disease-causing agents (parasites, bacteria, or viruses).
Vaccination is the process of receiving the vaccine.
Once vaccinated, you’ll begin the immunization process that will allow your body to identify these diseases.
Immunization is the process that follows vaccination, in which the body learns to fight a disease using its immune system.
Immunization can also happen naturally, without a vaccine, when a person is exposed to and recovers from a disease.
A person immunized against a certain disease cannot contract it. -
Step 2: people must understand what a vaccine is and how it works.
Assure people who you are educating about vaccines that vaccines have been proven safe in numerous trials and studies.
Federal Law Requires that everyone who gets a vaccine also receives a Vaccine Information Statement describing the benefits and risks of each vaccine.
Let people know that they have the right to use these statements to make an informed decision.
Opponents of vaccination might draw attention to the “Vaccine Injury Court” (the Office of Special Masters) to establish that vaccines are unsafe.
However, you should calmly explain that no medical procedure is ever entirely safe, and that the court exists to adjudicate those rare cases
-- literally less than one in a million
-- where vaccines do result in some harm., Multiple studies from both pubic and private medical agencies and organizations have established that vaccines do not cause autism.You could cite, for instance, the Institute of Medicine report that rejected any correlation between autism and vaccination, or the 2013 Center for Disease Control study that likewise showed vaccines do not cause autism.
These studies are available online at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2004/Immunization-Safety-Review-Vaccines-and-Autism.aspx and http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(13)00144-3/pdf?ext=.pdf, respectively.
Explain that the link between autism and vaccination originated with a British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, whose work was later debunked., These diseases could result in prolonged illness, disability, undernourishment, or death.Furthermore, if many people have not been vaccinated against a particular disease, the likelihood of an epidemic increases.
The more people who are walking around without immunity to a disease, after all, the easier it will be for a virus or disease to spread.
Immunization is therefore important to protect public health.
Use the importance of the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine to illustrate the consequences of not getting immunized.
You might explain that most people get HPV at some point in their life.
HPV can cause cancer of the cervix, anus, vulva, vagina, and throat.
Without this vaccine, women are at much greater risk for these cancers.
Young men are also starting to get this vaccine to limit the spread of the disease and the disease sequelae that follows, including cervical cancer other carcinomas. -
Step 3: Illustrate that Immunization is safe.Much of the anxiety and confusion surrounding vaccination is premised on the belief that vaccines can lead to negative outcomes.
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Step 4: Debunk the autism myth.
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Step 5: Emphasize the consequences of not getting immunized.Children -- whose immune systems are not as strong as those of adults -- are at risk for developing illnesses that could be prevented by vaccines.
Detailed Guide
Clarify the difference between three related terms: vaccine, vaccination, and immunization.A vaccine is the medical product (usually in the form of a shot) that protects against certain diseases.
Vaccinations are created using dead or weakened disease-causing agents (parasites, bacteria, or viruses).
Vaccination is the process of receiving the vaccine.
Once vaccinated, you’ll begin the immunization process that will allow your body to identify these diseases.
Immunization is the process that follows vaccination, in which the body learns to fight a disease using its immune system.
Immunization can also happen naturally, without a vaccine, when a person is exposed to and recovers from a disease.
A person immunized against a certain disease cannot contract it.
Assure people who you are educating about vaccines that vaccines have been proven safe in numerous trials and studies.
Federal Law Requires that everyone who gets a vaccine also receives a Vaccine Information Statement describing the benefits and risks of each vaccine.
Let people know that they have the right to use these statements to make an informed decision.
Opponents of vaccination might draw attention to the “Vaccine Injury Court” (the Office of Special Masters) to establish that vaccines are unsafe.
However, you should calmly explain that no medical procedure is ever entirely safe, and that the court exists to adjudicate those rare cases
-- literally less than one in a million
-- where vaccines do result in some harm., Multiple studies from both pubic and private medical agencies and organizations have established that vaccines do not cause autism.You could cite, for instance, the Institute of Medicine report that rejected any correlation between autism and vaccination, or the 2013 Center for Disease Control study that likewise showed vaccines do not cause autism.
These studies are available online at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2004/Immunization-Safety-Review-Vaccines-and-Autism.aspx and http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(13)00144-3/pdf?ext=.pdf, respectively.
Explain that the link between autism and vaccination originated with a British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, whose work was later debunked., These diseases could result in prolonged illness, disability, undernourishment, or death.Furthermore, if many people have not been vaccinated against a particular disease, the likelihood of an epidemic increases.
The more people who are walking around without immunity to a disease, after all, the easier it will be for a virus or disease to spread.
Immunization is therefore important to protect public health.
Use the importance of the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine to illustrate the consequences of not getting immunized.
You might explain that most people get HPV at some point in their life.
HPV can cause cancer of the cervix, anus, vulva, vagina, and throat.
Without this vaccine, women are at much greater risk for these cancers.
Young men are also starting to get this vaccine to limit the spread of the disease and the disease sequelae that follows, including cervical cancer other carcinomas.
About the Author
Emily Hamilton
Committed to making lifestyle accessible and understandable for everyone.
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