People still die of measles, though the disease could be avoided by systematic Vaccination. In Germany, politicians of the party are calling for across a vaccination. The doctors President Frank Ulich Montgomery supported the plans. The German ethics Council was also open-minded, but stressed recently, the debate should not be limited only to children.
But more and more parents refuse to allow their children to immunize? And what are the benefits of vaccination really bring? These are the facts.
Assertion: There are always more opponents.
Not true. The Federal centre for health education regularly examines how the attitude towards Vaccination changed. In the most recent survey, from the year 2016 18 percent of the participants reported to have reservations about vaccinations, five per cent refused. Two years earlier, there were still 25 percent or six percent.
Statement: If you can vaccinate, you can break out of the disease.
This is wrong – with extremely rare exceptions. “Most vaccines today are vaccines, where only parts of the pathogen occur,” says Klaus Cichutek, President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (PEI). In these funds, no increase, therefore, are eligible for pathogens that may cause diseases.
This is true in General, for live vaccines, which contain weakened versions of the pathogen. Examples of this are vaccinations against measles, Mumps, rubella, and yellow fever. “These pathogens can multiply is limited,” says Cichutek. “But you can’t trigger the appropriate infectious disease.”
But there are rare exceptions: In the case of a three-to-four million Polio immunizations with a live vaccine a person is infected by the vaccination with the disease. This is no longer made in Germany.
After the first measles vaccination to occur at 5 to 15 percent of people in the so-called Impfmasern, usually in the second week after the immunization. Symptoms include fever, fleeting rash, and irritation of the respiratory tract. In contrast to the “real” measles Impfmasern are not contagious and cause few symptoms, the self-subsiding, stresses Cichutek.
Claim: to have His child vaccinated also helps the other.
That’s true. A person protecting with a vaccination, not only themselves, but also, indirectly, others. If sufficient people are vaccinated, spread of a pathogen in the population. It is only then that infants or Pregnant women are protected, can not be vaccinated, for example against measles. The principle is also referred to as herd immunity.
Claim: vaccinations can cause autism, allergies and Sudden infant death syndrome.
This is wrong. “The rumor, in particular, the measles vaccine could cause autism, goes back to a study of only twelve children,” says PEI-chief Cichutek. The study from the year 1998, a British physician, was withdrawn due to the methodological error for a long time. The author has also lost his authorization as a doctor, because conflicts of interest have been detected. Further studies have disproved the Thesis, in the meantime, several times. “There is no evidence of a connection between vaccines and autism,” stressed Cichutek.
The same is true for allergies. So allergies occurred in the GDR, in spite of vaccination. There is even evidence to suggest that vaccination can reduce the risk for Allergy development.
Also if there is Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been demonstrated no connection with vaccinations. Rather, these deaths decreased cases in Germany, in spite of new combination vaccines. So about 1.5 infants per 1,000 children died, according to the health statistics of the Federal government in 1991, the Sudden infant death syndrome. Since the introduction of combination vaccines, in 2002 the number of cases fell up to the most recent Figures for 2013 to 0.2 of SIDS deaths per 1000 children. “SIDS occurs in early Childhood and in the time of your life children are vaccinated,” says Cichutek. Therefore, it could be purely coincidental to the cases of SIDS in temporal Association with vaccination.
Assertion: If women are vaccinated before pregnancy, protect your Baby.
This applies at least for some vaccinations. Before the birth of the contactor are transferred antibodies from the mother to the child. Newborns are characterized against specific pathogens are largely immune. Breast-feeding this nest of protection, since the Baby receives the mother’s milk antibodies.
But there are differences. Mothers who had the measles, give their babies an average of a longer-lasting nest protection than mothers who were vaccinated against the measles. In the case of other diseases, such as Tetanus or diphtheria only a nest, on the other hand the protection if the mothers were vaccinated. In babies whose mothers have the infection, does not consist of this protection. In the case of whooping cough there is no nest protection.
Statement: vaccination is a burden for the immune system of small children is much too high, because it is not yet fully developed.
This is wrong. “The immune system of small children is equipped with pathogens deal,” says Klaus Cichutek. The immune system of the human is developed through Training. “This Training should start as early as possible, with a safe training partner,” he adds. Vaccines included. True pathogens were without a trained immune system is very dangerous, life is dangerous. “You can strike at any age,” adds Cichutek.
Statement: Against poliomyelitis (Polio) you do not need vaccination, because the disease no longer exists.
That’s not true. Polio is in Germany, although after the large polio vaccine campaign of 1962, as eradicated. In 1990 the last case, a patient was documented, had been infected in Germany, with polio. However, polio viruses, in other countries. A vaccination is, therefore, here necessary, until they are eradicated worldwide.
Today in Germany, no oral vaccination with live vaccine, but inactive vaccine injected. So there is no risk of a disease. In countries with high Polio risk, the world health organization WHO, however, as before, to drink of vaccinations. It has the advantage of immunizing the resignation of attenuated vaccine Viruses in the environment.
Allegation: the measles has to go through that strengthens the body.
This is wrong. Measles are not harmless. One-third to one-half of the cases that have been reported to the Robert Koch-Institute, had to be treated in the hospital. Measles virus suppress the immune response. As a result, other pathogens can spread in the body more easily and, for example, a pneumonia cause.
Per year, an average of four to seven deaths in Germany due to a measles infection. Before the introduction of the vaccination were registered in Germany, around 100 deaths per year.
Assertion: Some vaccinations can also protect against certain other diseases or sequelae.
That’s right. In the case of measles, for example, meningeal inflammation are avoided, which are caused by the measles virus. This is also true for pneumonia, can occur when the measles virus weakens the immune system.
Vaccination against Influenza also reduces the risk of a bacterial inflammation of the lungs or of heart attack and stroke, which can occur as a complication after an influenza infection. In the age of the child given a vaccination against chickenpox protects indirectly against shingles. Without vaccination, chicken pox virus remain after an infection in the body and could cause after decades of the very painful shingles.
Statement: It is difficult to report side effects of vaccinations. Therefore, they are in many cases still not correctly known.
This is wrong. Before a vaccine is approved, you must efficacy and safety in clinical trials to be proven. Even after the admission of suspected cases must be reported on side effects and Impfkomplikationen. This obligation has been applicable since 2001 for Doctors.
Since 2012 also Affected can report the suspected complications. All messages will be forwarded to the European medicines Agency EMA. An example of the consequences of this multi-layered Monitoring and alarm system, a vaccination against a certain Form of inflammation of the brain (TBE), which can be transmitted by tick bite. Following the reports of very high fever as a not already, this vaccine was withdrawn in 2001 from the market. The vaccine was subsequently adjusted and re-approved.
Pharmaceutical companies make on vaccines is extremely a lot of money.
You can not say so sweeping. The vaccine-making applies in the industry as far less lucrative than the development of some of the other drugs. According to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, there are worldwide only a few companies that vaccines produce at all.
The production is complicated, it will take depending on the vaccine, between a few months up to two years and requires specialists. In addition to the quality checks and controls during the manufacturing process, there is in the case of vaccines state tests. A Batch does not meet all the required criteria, it must be discarded. This can affect a very large quantities – and a corresponding loss for the pharmaceutical company mean.