SHOULD I

VACCINATE
MY CHILD?
This can be a daunting question as new
parent or guardian. Are vaccines safe? Why
should my child be vaccinated if these
diseases are gone? Here are some answers to
many questions you may be having.
by Abigail Zoller-Gritz

1 HOW VACCINES ARE MADE

The vaccine is merely an inactivated disease that is grown,
purified, and then formulated into the vaccine. Inactivation
is when the technician applies chemicals or heat to the virus
in order weaken or inactivate the virus. Formulation is when
inactivated antigens are combined with adjuvants,
stabilizers, and preservatives, which help increase
effectivity of the vaccine.

VACCINE SAFETY
2

There are about 14 million deaths prevented by vaccines.

Any symptoms one would get from a vaccine is minor, like a
rash or fever. It is safe for children, and there is no
evidence to support that multiple vaccines overwhelm the
system.

HERD IMMUNITY
Herd immunity is when the people who are incapable of
getting vaccinated are protected by the people who are
vaccinated as there are so many people immune to the
disease that the disease basically dies out in that area.
Protecting those people can only be done by having
everyone able to be vaccinated 

VACCINES VS AUTISM
4

There has been no legitimate evidence to support the

theory that vaccines cause autism. The whole idea that
vaccines cause autism is from one man, Andrew Wakefield,
who published a study that linked vaccines and autism, that
has since been redacted as he was paid to find results as
well as running an improper study.

VACCINE INNOVATION
5

There is a lot being done to make vaccines better, more

transportable, as well as making more vaccine for more
diseases, like AIDS. There is also research being on making
vaccines more personalized for children who are unable to
get vaccinated.

6
WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION (WHO)
The World Health Organization now says that hesitancy
and refusal to vaccinate children is causing more people to
get sick and reverse the progress that occurred to almost
eradicated diseases. They have just added it to the lists of
health risks as they find it affects everyone across all ages.

7
CENTER FOR DISEASE
CONTROL (CDC)
The CDC has been one of the main organizations to
push for higher vaccination rates. They were the ones
that conducted a counter study to the Wakefield study.
They have continued to do studies on vaccines,
and continually find that they are safe and effective.

Research on this article is done by Abigail Zoller-Gritz for Intern mentor.