HJNO May/Jun 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS  I  MAY / JUN 2021 49 TOP 3 VACCINE QUESTIONS 1. How do vaccines work? Vaccines work to prime your immune system against future “attacks” by a particular disease. There are vaccines against both viral and bacterial patho- gens. When a pathogen enters your body, your immune system generates antibod- ies to try to fight it off. Depending on the strength of your immune response and how effectively the antibodies fight off the pathogen, you may or may not get sick. If you do fall ill, however, some of the antibodies that are created will remain in your body, playing “watchdog” after you’re no longer sick. If you’re exposed to the same pathogen in the future, your antibodies will recognize it and fight it off. Vaccines work because of this function of the immune system. They’re made from a killed, weakened, or partial version of a pathogen. When you get a vaccine, whatever version of the pathogen it contains isn’t strong or plentiful enough to make you sick, but it’s enough for your immune system to generate antibodies against it. 2. Why aren’t all vaccines 100% effective? Vaccines are designed to generate an immune response for protection during future exposures to the disease. Individual immune systems, however, are dif- ferent enough that in some cases, a person’s immune system will not generate an adequate response. As a result, they will not be effectively protected after immunization. However, the effectiveness of most vaccines is high. After receiving the sec- ond dose of the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) or the standalone measles vaccine, 99.7% of vaccinated individuals are immune to measles. The inactivated polio vaccine offers 99% effectiveness after three doses. The var- icella (chickenpox) vaccine is between 85% and 90% effective in preventing all varicella infections, but 100% effective in preventing moderate and severe chicken pox. 3. Do vaccines cause autism? No. Vaccines do not cause autism. This assertion was publicized after a 1998 paper by a British physician who claimed to have found evidence that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine was linked to autism. The potential link has been thoroughly explored; study after study has found no such link, and the original 1998 study has been formally withdrawn byThe Lancet, its original publisher. Studies were also done regarding the possibility of a link between the preservative thimerosal, used in some vaccines, and autism; again, no such link was found. It’s likely this misconception persists because of the coincidence in tim- ing between early childhood vaccinations and the first appearance of autism symptoms. Stewart T. Gordon, MD, FAAP Chief Medical Officer, Medical Affairs Louisiana Healthcare Connections The Immunization Equation: More Vaccines = More Protection For children ages two and under, it is especially important to maintain regularly scheduled well-child checkups and to stay up to date on immunizations despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines still remain the best way to keep children — and the community — healthy. Call your child’s physician today to be cer- tain their vaccines are up to date! n SOURCES www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ mmwrhtml/00056803.htm 2009 study published in Pediatrics [conducted by researchers from Kaiser Permanente Colora- do’s Institute for Health Research] www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/whatifstop.htm https://www.historyofvaccines.org