Ask A Doctor No More
Episode 109: Vaccines.. and the delay of children
There is alot of circulating talk about vaccines
Every day a horror story about them
I am not taking about the discomfort from the vaccine, or what follows in the subsequent few days
I am talking about stories of significant harm, side effects and development of disease, specially in kids
I mean! what is the benefit of vaccinations!?
When did you last see someone with measles or polio!?
Why would someone take the risk and vaccinate!?
The sad truth!! is that we are having this debate because of the success of vaccines..
The benefits of vaccinations are indeed HUGE!
The real risk.. is in NOT vaccinating
It is not even a 100 years ago when parents used to panic when their kids developed a fever
They were worried that this is it! this disease is what would kill or cripple their child!
This was particularly true after the Hajj - Pilgrimage - season
But with the wide spread of vaccinations, we no longer see these tragedies.. Thank God
Vaccination does not only protect the one vaccinated
It is also acts as a protective agent to the spread of disease in the community
not everyone is able to get a vaccine
When enough are vaccinated diseases are kept at bay
a phenomenon that is called (Herd immunity)
However, it takes continuity to keep this protection going
if we let our guards down and stop vaccinating
It won't be long until the diseases are able to spread through the community and cause a lot of harm
This is not mere theory.. this actually happens
in 1998, a weak study was published attempting to link the MMR vaccine to the development of Autism
This study caused alot of fear, helped in part by the massive media coverage
Some parents stopped vaccinating their kids as a result
Measles was a disease that had disappeared from the United States
Parents did not realize the risk they are taking by not vaccinating their kids
It barely took 10 years until it began having a comeback
Only now did these parents realized their erroneous decision not to vaccinate
Now.. Rates of vaccination almost quadrupled in places where measles spread
Spreading wrong information about vaccination is harmful
The resulting fear will only cause people to shy away from vaccination
in the beginning there won't be drastic consequences. but it won't take long!!
At some point we will lose the "Herd Immunity" and we will pay the price as a community
It is easy to fixate on the stories that circulates about vaccines.. It is certainly normal to fear for your kids
But recall the "hidden" greater danger that you impose on them by not getting vaccinated
Luckily, the recent past is available for view in vivid pictures and videos.
With a quick internet search you can learn about all the diseases that you will protect your child from by vaccination
Make sure to consider the huge benefits.
Vaccines are effective and very useful
But let's discuss the other aspect... risks .. are they really as the stories suggest?
Why do Doctors just insist they are safe without going into further discussion about all the claims?
Is it because they don't know the details of the matter?
People who say that vaccines cause harm are also knowledgeable and educated
They speak science too!
Why doesn't this discussion come to a conclusion!?
The debate around the safety of vaccines can seem daunting and complicated
Alot of topics, vaccines cause diseases, vaccines harbor toxins, vaccines are too much.. Etc
It won't end!!
Every time a claim of vaccination harm that gets debunked, another will appear
These debates are not beneficial, they only result in people fearing vaccines. despite laying all the facts
So let me tell you the only fact that you need to know
These claims that suggest that vaccination cause significant harm are very weak when compared to the strong evidence that debunks it
These claims do NOT need further studies to investigate their merit
That is probably the main reason alot of doctors (pediatricians) do not like to engage in these converations
They just keep on saying Vaccinations are SAFE
You maybe wondering, who decides if a study is strong or weak!?
So let me try to explain this scientific concept by this story
Lets imagine that a school wanted to pick one of the students for a running contest
Faisal and Abdullah were two kids that run to school every day, and so were nominated
They lived an equal distance away from school
the principle asked the schools gate keeper for his opinion - as he sees them everyday- . which of them is faster than the other?
He thought, they are both pretty similar in speed
Their teacher objected
He said I keep track of the time they are delayed for the first class. and I note that Faisal is usually late
and so, I conclude that Abdulla is faster than Faisal
Faisal's mother heard about this and was surprised. She though her child was pretty fast
so she decided to follow both kids every morning for a week
she realized that Faisal is usually late not because he is slow
But because he meets his friend Nasser on the way and spends some extra time with him
To confirm that Faisal is fast, she got a tracker and placed one in Faisal's bag and the other in Abdulla's
The tracker recorded the speed of both kids
indeed Faisal was obviously faster when running
Now you see, 3 different results .. but they are not all true
The 3 results - certainly - do not carry similar value
The result of Faisal's mother is the most accurate
And although the other 2 opinions were based on rightful information, the conclusions were wrong
The (Methodology) carried out by Faisal's mother took more time and effort, but yielded more reliable results
And even if some "unhappy" people claim that Abdulla's leg is longer, or step is wider. These claims do not impose the slightest change in the conclusion
Because we have the speeds accurately measured already!
Research studies are "NOT" equal in the same fashion. Alot of the reliability of their conclusions stems from our understanding of the (Methodology)
This pyramid summarizes this scientific concept.
You can see that it starts with expert opinions as the weakest form of scientifically acceptable evidence
And goes all the way to Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews of these trials as the strongest form of evidence
In summary, methodology decides - to a large extent - how reliable are the results
Going back to vaccinations
Yes.. There are evidence to suggest that vaccines cause harm
And although some were falsified, I am not going to get into that
all these studies belong to the weakest forms of scientific evidence.
On the other hand, over the past 20 years, one study after the other proves NO harm
These studies were done in more than 40 different countries
Each had a larger set of studied children and had a better (methodology) to reach a reliable result
NONE!! NONE!! found that vaccinations caused harm. Concluding that Vaccines are safe
And that the suggested harms by the weaker studies so not hold true
These studies altogether examined more than 14 million and 700 hundred thousand children
On the contrary, a study like the one linking MMR to autism reported the story of 12 cases
What is keeping this debate ongoing - nonetheless - is that every time a study debunks a false claim, another arises
And some people will just not abide by scientific facts. specially those who choose to believe that it is all a conspiracy..
I am a DAD "First" ... then a Doctor
I understand how precious are children, I got 2 of my own, we all want the best for them
The scientific community also understands that and that is why vaccination is one of the heavily studied topics in medicine
Sometimes there are 2 sides to an argument, and both are worth considering
But not this one!
The side that demonizes vaccines does not rely on strong evidence and that is why the conclusions are simply inaccurate
the opinions of "anti-vax"ers will harm you, your family, me and my family. Yes, it won't be today but will be in the foreseeable future
Vaccines are ((SAFE)) and ((EFFECTIVE))
Don't hold its benefits away from your loved ones and you society
Be Conscious
I hope you liked the episode and found it useful
I would like to thank both Dr.Nezar and Dr.Abdullah for their valuable review and comments
And to to extend my gratitude to you !! thanks for watching and sharing :)
I am always happy to receive your comments and feedback through social media pages
Goodbye!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét