12 Things the Anti-Vaccine Movement Got Wrong

I know the anti-vaccine movement like the back of my hand, because I used to be part of it. I believed nearly every lie they told, because the story they created-- one in which "childhood illnesses" were no big deal, and in which I could keep my kids safe with crystals and kale-- was comforting. But the more research I did (real research, from reputable sources) the more I found out that the anti-vaccine movement's most sacred lies were flat-out wrong. Here are ten of the worst, and most easily disproven, lies told by the anti-vax movement.

1. Myth: Vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue.
Fact: They don't, and never have.

Vaccines have never contained the tissues of aborted fetuses. The only tiny grain of truth in that claim is that aborted fetuses, from pregnancies terminated over fifty years ago, were used to cultivate cell lines that are still used today to manufacture vaccines. The cells have divided trillions of times since the original fetuses died. This is nothing new: cell lines are used all the time in medicine. Henrietta Lacks, who died in 1951, still has living cells that are still saving the lives of people daily. However, no trace of fetal tissue is present in vaccines, nor is there any trace of human DNA in vaccines. Even those who oppose abortion should not oppose this use of embryonic cells: not only have fetuses never been aborted for the purpose of using them in vaccines, but the MMR vaccine has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of fetuses, since rubella was once a leading cause of fetal death. I also doubt that most vaccine opposers would decline an organ transplant from a murder victim just because they ethically opposed the person's cause of death.

2. Myth: Disease rates have gone down because of improved hygiene, not immunization.
Fact:  Sanitation does not explain the decline of vaccine-preventable ilness.

There's actually evidence that improved sanitation caused outbreaks of polio. Safety protocols like handwashing and clean water are important, but that doesn't mean that vaccines aren't a necessary and causative factor in reducing disease. Most animals still live in the same degree of filth (or worse) compared to 300 years ago, yet we've seen diseases affecting them be eradicated or nearly eradicated. Rinderpest, which infects cattle, is the second disease after smallpox to be completely eliminated. To this day, ninety-nine percent of cases of rabies are caused by dog bites in areas with low immunization rates, but almost none occur in countries with mandatory vaccination of pets. If improved sanitation were the cause, I think my dogs missed the memo that it's now passe for U.S. dogs to lick their butts.

3. Myth: Today's vaccine schedule contains way more diseases than ever before.
Fact: Today's vaccines protect against more diseases than ever, but with less exposure to actual viruses and bacteria.

Science has refined vaccines so that children's immune systems can build a response to bacteria and viruses, without actually needing to be exposed to live or whole-cell germs. The American Academy of Pediatrics points out, "Although we now give children more vaccines, the actual number of antigens they receive has declined. Whereas previously 1 vaccine, smallpox, contained about 200 proteins, now the 11 routinely recommended vaccines contain fewer than 130 proteins in total. "  In other words, we expose kids to fewer bits of germs in eleven vaccines today than we did in just one vaccine a hundred years ago.

4. Myth: Too many vaccines at once will overwhelm the immune system. 
Fact: Vaccines can't and don't "overwhelm" the immune system.

Not only is there much less to react to than ever before, but children's bodies are very resilient and can tolerate receiving many vaccines at one time or in rapid succession. Kids are exposed to hundreds of germs on any given day, but we don't worry that they will be "overwhelmed" by germs crawling on the monkeybars at the playground. The AAP also points out that the side effects from a single vaccine given by itself are about the same as the side effects from six at one time. Why make your child suffer the same uncomfortable reaction six times when his immune system could tackle them all at once?

5. Myth: Vaccines "shed" and can sicken those who are around a recently vaccinated person.
Fact: Only two standard childhood vaccines can possibly cause "shedding" and the risk is infinitesimal.

Vaccines can only "shed," or spread viruses and bacteria to the people around the recently vaccinated person, if very specific circumstances are met, and they almost never are. The only vaccines that shed are live vaccines, and only two live vaccines are typically given to children in the US, the rotavirus vaccine and the chickenpox vaccine. Rotavirus only spreads post-vaccination if an immunocomprimised person touches the recently-vaccinated baby's poop and then doesn't wash their hands. Chickenpox only spreads post-vaccination  if a child is one of the very few people who develops a mild chickenpox infection from the vaccine, and if an immunocomprimised person who has never caught or been vaccinated for chickenpox touches the rash. How often does this happen? Well, it's only been recorded five times with chickenpox out of 55 million vaccines administered. So the odds are roughly one in eleven million and only apply if someone is immunocomprimised and plans on touching baby poop or chickenpox rashes. And, by the way? Those five people who caught shed chickenpox had very mild infections and were fine.

6. Myth: Vaccines are injected directly into the bloodstream.

Fact: Vaccines are injected into muscle tissue.

People who claim that vaccines are dangerous typically point to the idea that we don't know what effect "chemicals" might have on children if those chemicals are injected directly into a child's bloodstream. Well, there's good news on that: not a single vaccine is administered intravenously, and never has been. Vaccines are injected into muscle tissue, where they are absorbed a bit more gradually (that's why your child might have a little bump at the site of the injection). Vaccines never enter a child's bloodstream directly.

7. Myth: Vaccine-preventable illnesses are almost always mild.

Fact: Most vaccine-preventable illnesses are very serious, and all can cause death.

Every mother wants to believe that so-called childhood illnesses are just a fact of life, and a harmless one. But they're not. Let's look at diphtheria, for example. My grandmother's sister was one of the 1 in 5 victims of diphtheria who succumbed to the disease. Over 28% of children under five who contract measles need to be hospitalized, while anywhere from 11-78% of people with tetanus die. The worst is rabies, which claims the lives one hundred percent-- that's right, one hundred percent-- of people who are exposed who aren't quickly vaccinated against the disease. Even if all these diseases really were harmless, they are in the very least unpleasant. Why make your children suffer when it's preventable? Vaccine-preventable diseases are a big deal.

8. Myth: Vaccines contain mercury.

Fact: The standard children's immunization schedule has not contained mercury since 2001.

Children's vaccines used to contain thimerosal, a compound that contains mercury. It was an important ingredient because it prevented fungi and bacteria from growing in vaccines and causing serious side effects. Although there was never any evidence that thimerosal caused autism or other adverse effects, it was withdrawn from all children's vaccines in the United States in 2001 as a precaution. It remains an ingredient in the flu shot but is no longer present in any other recommended childhood vaccines. Yet rates of autism continue to increase. 

9. Myth: Most people who catch vaccine-preventable diseases are vaccinated.
Fact: Not really, and that doesn't matter.

Someone failed Statistics 101. It is true that, in some cases of disease outbreaks, a fair number of vaccinated people have gotten sick. This is no surprise to anyone: everyone knows that vaccines don't prevent 100% of cases (which is why herd immunity is so important). But the thing to bear in mind is that a tremendously disproportionate number of people who are unvaccinated get sick.  Think of it this way: out of a hundred kids, let's say six aren't vaccinated. Five unvaccinated children get sick, while ten unvaccinated children get sick. It's true in this casethat most of the sick kids were vaccinated, but it's also true that being unvaccinated correlates with getting sick. This is the way the statistics have played out in every VPD outbreak in modern history. This is basic knowledge that was discovered and taken to heart when vaccines were developed.

10. Myth: Death and autism are listed as vaccine side effects on the package inserts, so they must be real side effects.

Fact: Death and autism are not side effects of vaccines, and the package insert doesn't change that.

Vaccine manufacturers are required by law to include all possible side effects of their vaccines on the package inserts, including those that were not confirmed by actual scientific research. The Vaccine Averse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, is the FDA's method of collecting anecdotal reports about vaccine injuries. In other words, anyone can file a VAERS report saying whatever they want. If a parent has a child who is diagnosed with autism months or years after a vaccine, she can report it to VAERS as a side effect. The same is true of the exhaustive list of other VAERS reports, which include things like "automobile accident" and "drowning." Dr. James R. Laidler illustrated this by submitting "Turning into the Incredible Hulk" as a vaccine side effect (and was approved!). Anyone can report anything to VAERS. That doesn't make it valid science.

11. Myth: If your kids are vaccinated, you shouldn't care whether or not mine are.

Fact: Yes, I should.

For one thing, I don't want your kids to die. The fact that they're not my kids doesn't mean I don't care about their safety. I have been a scared anti-vaccine mom before, and my children survived my mistakes, but I am upset by stories of other parents making the same mistake I did and not being so lucky. Furthermore, when you don't vaccinate your children, they become carriers who can infect people who can't be vaccinated: infants, the immunocomprimised, the elderly, and those with genuine allergies to vaccine ingredients. These people are at a very high risk of dying from vaccine-preventable illnesses, and you are to blame if your children transmit them.

12. Myth: People who support vaccines are shills paid by Big Pharma.

Fact: We are real people and we aren't being paid.

I have been a vaccine advocate for four years. I have been featured in national and international news. I have had millions of views of my articles about vaccine advocacy. And I haven't been paid a single dime. My "real" writing career isn't spent advocating for vaccines because there is no money in this. The one time I was contacted by a pharmaceutical company about giving a speech, they apologetically explained that they were not legally allowed to compensate me. This is a labor of love, and there isn't much (if any) money in it for me. The same is true of every other vaccine advocate you know: your doctor, your friends, your online enemies. We do what we do because we care, not because we're out to get rich. I am a vaccine advocate because I care about children's lives.