Misconceptions of vaccines

Vaccines help to provide immunity against diseases. Sadly, there are a number of misconceptions surrounding vaccines, leading to some areas of the community opting not to vaccinate. This has a negative impact as decreasing immunisation rates can lead to an increase in diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, as was seen with the whooping cough in California.

Misconceptions such as ‘vaccines can overwhelm a child’s the immune system’ are dangerous, and have no scientific or medical standing. In reality, the cells in the immune system are continuously being renewed; meaning the likelihood of the system being overwhelmed is next to nil, thanks to cell replenishment. Similar misconceptions have in part been fuelled by social media, with the rise of ‘fake news’ and ‘fake science’, contributing to a mistrust of immunisation threats.

Learn more about misconceptions of vaccines with the interactive fact sheet below.

Download the fact sheet as a PDF or JPEG.

Featured image credit: Friends by  Nathaniel Tetteh. CC0 public domain via Unsplash.

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