--- title: Common Anti-Vaccination Misinformation tags: live-v0.1, misinformation, debunking, prebunking permalink: https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/misinfo_antivax --- {%hackmd 5iAEFZ5HRMGXP0SGHjFm-g %} <!---{%hackmd FnZFg00yRhuCcufU_HBc1w %}---> {%hackmd GHtBRFZdTV-X1g8ex-NMQg %} # Common anti-vaccination misinformation :::warning This page is about common misinformation about vaccines in general. For misinformation specific to COVID-19 vaccines, visit [this page](https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/misinfo_myths). ::: Notwithstanding broad public acceptance of vaccinations generally, anti-vaccination activists have sought to undermine vaccinations since their invention more than 200 years ago. Although they ultimately rarely prevail, when activist movements find temporary traction in a society, vaccination rates decline, leading to a [resurgence of preventable diseases](/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007135/). This has occurred with the [polio vaccine](https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040073), the [pertussis vaccine](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9652634/), and the [measles-mumps-rubella vaccine](https://www.nature.com/articles/473443a) programs, among others. **The perpetuation of misinformation around vaccines can therefore present a danger to public health.** Since vaccines were first developed, opponents have made many different claims about them. Broadly, the claims centre on the need for vaccines, how they work, their safety, their components, their moral or religious acceptability, and their development and testing. In anti-vaccination writings, vaccines have been [linked](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19879997/) to anything from Gulf War Syndrome through to cancer and even violence and crime. Below are some of the most common manifest claims followed by information that refutes them. <span style="color:green"> To find more anti-vaccination arguments and their respective refutations visit https://jitsuvax.info/ ## Facts against anti-vaccination disinformation :::success These facts are against anti-vaccination disinformation in general. For facts specific to myths about COVID-19 vaccines, see our [Myths about COVID-19 vaccination page](https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/misinfo_myths). ::: ### FACT: Vaccines are rigorously tested to ensure that they are safe *MYTH: "I heard on Facebook that vaccines are unsafe."* Vaccine development is a rigorous process with [layers of safety and efficacy reviews](https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/vaccines-and-immunization-vaccine-safety) before approval for widespread use can be gained. Once vaccines are licensed for use, they are subject to ongoing safety surveillance. Regulators and researchers use passive or active systems to determine whether there is a spike in adverse events following a particular vaccine. This is particularly the case with a new vaccine program. ### FACT: Claims linking vaccines to autism relied on poor and fraudulent research *MYTH: "My tabloid newspaper says that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism."* One of the most prevalent misinformation theories around vaccines stems from a widely discredited, and since retracted, study pubished in _The Lancet_ in 1998 by Wakefield et al. The study's discussion raised questions about whether there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. This erroneous theory took hold within the public consciousness and [persists today across the globe](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01215/full) (Arif et al, 2018). A plethora of further studies have demonstrated there is [**no causal link**](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html) between any vaccine and autism. Moreover, after a long investigation, the lead author has been banned from practicing medicine because the research was revealed to be [unethical and fraudulent](https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c7452). The former doctor is now contributing to events such as the [_Conspira-Sea_ cruise](https://www.wired.com/2016/02/conspira-sea-cruise-know-truth/) together with speakers who, inter alia, [have been dead three times](https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a21919/conspiracy-theory-cruise/). ### FACT: Vaccines prevent diseases and do not cause them *MYTH: "If I get vaccinated I may get the disease I am trying to prevent."* One of the rare side effects of vaccines is that they can cause mild symptoms resembling those of the disease they are providing protection against. However, these symptoms are actually the [body’s immune system](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf) reacting to the vaccine and not the disease itself; in fact, they are a good sign that the vaccine is working. Some vaccines (such as the MMR vaccine) are live and can cause some mild disease symptoms like a rash or fever, but not the diseases themselves. Very occasionally, someone who has been vaccinated [can nonetheless develop the actual disease](https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/vaccines-and-immunization-myths-and-misconceptions). This can occur if the immune system does not produce enough antibodies in response to the vaccine. No vaccine can be 100% effective and vaccines vary in their levels of effectiveness. ### FACT: Vaccines contain chemicals that we encounter every day *MYTH: "Vaccines contain dangerous toxins."* Some people worry that ingredients contained in a vaccine, such as mercury, aluminium, and formaldehyde, are harmful due to their perceived toxicity. In high concentrations, these chemicals can indeed be toxic, but only trace amounts are used in vaccines. There is no scientific evidence that such small quantities are harmful. In fact, we are exposed to these chemicals every day in foods, water and preservatives, and they can even be [produced naturally within the body. ](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/safety-availability-biologics/common-ingredients-us-licensed-vaccines) ### FACT: Vaccines can help where the body's natural immunity cannot *MYTH: "Natural immunity is more effective than immunity from vaccines."* Some diseases can allow natural immunity to develop without vaccination. However, this exposes the body to dangerous risks that vaccinations do not. For example, to develop 'natural' immunity to measles, you must first contract the virus. Unfortunately, complications from measles include pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in [1 in 1000 cases](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/symptoms/complications.html). By contrast, serious side effects from the MMR vaccine are [extremely rare.](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html) Vaccines provide a safe way to build immunity without the damaging and potentially fatal impacts of contracting a preventable disease. **See [Questions about vaccination](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/questions-about-vaccination) for a comprehensive listing of the various concerns and their refutations.** ### FACT: Diseases can spread even if infection rates are currently low *Myth: "There is no need to get a vaccine if infection rates are low"* It is easy to forget the profound impact of certain diseases, particularly those we have been able to successfully suppress through the use of vaccines, and may have been fortunate enough not to experience in our lifetime. Measles, for example, is one of the most infectious diseases in humans, and is estimated to have killed around 200 million people worldwide between the mid 1800's and 2005. Thanks to the tireless efforts of scientists, measles vaccines were introduced in the 1960's, and by the year 2000, [measles was declared eliminated from the US](https://https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/63/wr/mm6354a1.htm?s_cid=mm6354a1_w). In the last 20 years alone, the vaccine has saved an [estimated 23 million lives.](https://https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles) Despite this, many countries still face the measles endemic. In the last decade, most cases in the US can be traced back to [someone who was infected abroad](https://https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/63/wr/mm6354a1.htm?s_cid=mm6354a1_w). Unfortunately, measles cases are once again on the rise. Fewer people are vaccinating their children, which is reducing the [herd immunity](https://https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19?gclid=CjwKCAjwz5iMBhAEEiwAMEAwGKGMZGW8D2oMUcss8MynKLh2SnpJlVlHa2_tKh0o6mixbxdoy8k8gxoCBwIQAvD_BwE#) we once had. If this continues, more people will be exposed to a potentially deadly disease, and we are likely to see resistance wane in future adult populations - a prime breeding ground for the measles virus to make it's comeback. Whilst it may be easy to consider a disease 'no longer a problem', continuing to vaccinate ourselves and our children, we can help to prevent it from taking hold, and protect our loved ones and future generations from harm. ## Anti-vaccination themes To understanding the potential appeal of anti-vaccination misinformation, it is useful to consider analyses of the deeper themes underscoring them. The [themes](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-842X.1998.tb01140.x?sid=nlm%3Apubmed) present a narrative that looks a bit like this: > *Vaccines are poisonous chemical cocktails that cause all manner of modern ills - a 'fact' which is covered-up by a conspiracy between big pharma, big government and medicine. Those taking the trouble to excavate the facts and reveal this vast cover-up are often brave whistle-blowers ready to break from within science and medicine. Stories of those allegedly harmed by vaccines provide authentic accounts in stark contrast to the cold clinical face of medicine. Ultimately, it is better to get back to nature and develop immunity through a good diet and lifestyle or even from the disease itself.* A fact-based theme, by contrast, recognizes that vaccinations are the safest and most effective way to prevent terrible suffering. Vaccines save [5 lives every minute](https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/immunization) of every day. ## Emerging COVID-19 vaccine misinformation We also have a **[dedicated page](https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/misinfo_myths)** that addresses misinformation against the COVID-19 vaccines specifically. ---- <sub>Page contributors: Victoria Louise Smith, Stephan Lewandowsky, Julie Leask</sub> {%hackmd GHtBRFZdTV-X1g8ex-NMQg %} {%hackmd TLvrFXK3QuCTATgnMJ2rng %} {%hackmd oTcI4lFnS12N2biKAaBP6w %}
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Conspiracy theories

Pandemics have always been a fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. When people suffer a loss of control or feel threatened, they become more vulnerable to believing conspiracies.

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