Applied Evidence

When the answer to vaccines is “No”

J Fam Pract. 2018 June;67(6):348-351,359-364

From The Journal of Family Practice | 2018;67(6):348-351,359-364.

References

1. Paterson P, Meurice F, Stanberry LR, et al. Vaccine hesitancy and healthcare providers. Vaccine. 2016;34:6700-6706.

2. Opel DJ, Heritage J, Taylor J, et al. The architecture of provider-parent vaccine discussions at health supervision visits. Pediatrics. 2013;132:1037-1046.

3. Palmer J, Carrico C, Costanzo C. Identifying and overcoming perceived barriers of providers towards vaccination: a literature review. J Vaccines. 2015;1-7.

4. Autism Science Foundation. Making the CASE for vaccines: a new model for talking to patients about vaccines. Available at: http://autismsciencefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Making-the-CASE-for-Vaccines-Guide_final.pdf. Accessed April 8, 2018.

5. Jacobson RM, Van Etta L, Bahta L. The C.A.S.E approach: guidance for talking to vaccine-hesitant patients. Minn Med. 2013;96:49-50.

6. Henrickson NB, Opel DJ, Grothaus L, et al. Physician communication training and parental vaccine hesitancy: a randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2015;136:70-79.

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key facts about seasonal flu vaccine. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm. Accessed April 8, 2018.

8. Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, et al. Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet. 1998;351:637-641.

9. Taylor LE, Swerdfeger AL, Eslick GD. Vaccines are not associated with autism: an evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies. Vaccine. 2014;32:3623-3629.

10. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. Minimal risk levels for hazardous substances. Available at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mrls/mrllist.asp#34tag. Accessed April 8, 2018.

11. US Food and Drug Administration. Thimerosal and vaccines. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228. Accessed April 8, 2018.

12. Hviid A, Stellfeld M, Wohlfahrt J, et al. Association between thimerosal-containing vaccine and autism. JAMA. 2003;290:1763-1766.

13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thimerosal in vaccines. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html. Accessed May 8, 2018.

14. Autism Speaks. Frequently asked questions. Available at: https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/faq. Accessed April 8, 2018.

15. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. Toxic substances portal-aluminum. Public Health Statement for Aluminum, CAS #7429-90-5. Available at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/PHS/PHS.asp?id=1076&tid=34. Accessed April 8, 2018.

16. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Vaccine ingredients-aluminum. Available at: www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum. Accessed April 8, 2018.

17. Orenstein W, Seib K. Mounting a good offense against measles. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:1661-1663.

18. Plans-Rubió P. The vaccination coverage required to establish herd immunity against influenza viruses. Prev Med. 2012;55:72-77.

19. Hall V, Banerjee E, Kenyon C, et al. Measles outbreak – Minnesota April-May 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017;66:713-717.

20. The National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine. History of U.S. water and wastewater systems. Privatization of Water Services in the United States: an Assessment of Issues and Experience. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2002:29-40. Available at: https://www.nap.edu/read/10135/chapter/4#35. Accessed May 7, 2018.

21. World Health Organization. Global vaccine safety. Six common misconceptions about immunization. Available at: http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/detection/immunization_misconceptions/en/index1.html. Accessed May 7, 2018.

22. The history of vaccines. Human cell strains in vaccine development. Available at: https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/human-cell-strains-vaccine-development. Accessed April 8, 2018.

23. The National Catholic Bioethics Center. Frequently asked questions. Available at: https://www.ncbcenter.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions/use-vaccines/. Accessed April 8, 2018.

24. Shimabukuro TT, Nguyen M, Martin D, et al. Safety monitoring in the vaccine adverse event reporting system (VAERS). Vaccine. 2015;33:4398-4405.

25. Foster S. Rotavirus vaccine and intussusception. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. 2007;12:4-7.

26. Mistry RD, Fischer JB, Prasad PA, et al. Severe complications of influenza-like illnesses. Pediatrics. 2014;134:e684-e690.

27. McNeil MM, Weintraub ES, Duffy J, et al. Risk of anaphylaxis after vaccination in children and adults. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016;137:868-878.

28. McLaughlin JM, McGinnis JJ, Tan L, et al. Estimated human and economic burden of four major adult vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States, 2013. J Prim Prev. 2015;36:259-273.

29. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/features/vfcprogram/index.html. Accessed April 8, 2018.

30. Plotkin S, Gerber JS, Offit PA. Vaccines and autism: a tale of shifting hypotheses. Clin Infect Dis. 2009;48:456-461.

31. Offit PA, Quarles J, Gerber MA, et al. Addressing parents’ concerns: do multiple vaccines overwhelm or weaken the infant’s immune system? Pediatrics. 2002;109:124-129.

32. Offit PA, Moser CA. The problem with Dr. Bob’s alternative vaccine schedule. Pediatrics. 2009;123:e164-e169.

33. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu vaccination coverage, United States, 2016-17 influenza season. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1617estimates.htm. April 8. 2018.

34. Walker TY, Elam-Evans LD, Singleton JA, et al. National, regional, state and selected local area vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13-17 years – United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017;66:874-882.

35. Thomas TL. Cancer prevention: HPV vaccination. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2016:32:273-280.

36. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimating seasonal influenza-associated deaths in the United States. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/US_flu-related_deaths.htm. Accessed May 8, 2018.

37. Wong KK, Jain S, Blanton L, et al. Influenza-associated pediatric deaths in the United States: 2004-2012. Pediatrics. 2013;132:796-804.

38. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness, 2005-2018. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/effectiveness-studies.htm. Accessed April 8, 2018.

39. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza (flu). Flu vaccine and people with egg allergies. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/egg-allergies.htm. Accessed April 8, 2018.

40. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For parents: vaccines for your children. HPV vaccine for preteens and teens. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/teen/hpv.html. Accessed April 8, 2018.

41. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines and preventable diseases. HPV vaccine recommendations. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html. Accessed May 7, 2018.

42. Cutts FT, Franceschi S, Goldie S, et al. Human papillomavirus and HPV vaccines: a review. Bull World Health Organ. 2007;85:719-726.

43. De Vincenzo R, Conte C, Ricci C, et al. Long-term efficacy and safety of human papillomavirus vaccination. Int J Womens Health. 2014;6:999-1010.

44. McInerney KA, Hatch EE, Wesselink AK. The effect of vaccination against human papillomavirus on fecundability. Paedeatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2017;31:531-536.

45. Chao C, Klein NP, Velicer CM, et al. Surveillance of autoimmune conditions following routine use of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine. J Intern Med. 2012;271:193-203.

46. Vichnin M, Bonanni P, Klein NP, et al. An overview of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine safety: 2006-2015. Ped Infect Dis J. 2015;34:983-991.

47. Bednarczyk RA, Davis R, Ault K, et al. Sexual activity-related outcomes after human papillomavirus vaccination of 11-to-12-year-olds. Pediatrics. 2012;130:798-805.

3. I’m healthy. I never get sick. Why do I need vaccinations?

A good way to counter this comment is to respond: “Saying you don’t need vaccinations because you never get sick is like saying you don’t need to wear a seat belt because you’ve never been in a car accident.” Advise patients that we seek to vaccinate all members of a community—not just those who are sick or at high risk—to protect ourselves and to provide “herd immunity.” It’s important to explain that herd immunity is resistance to the spread of a contagious disease that results if a sufficiently high number of people (depending on the illness, typically 80%-95%) are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.^17,18 If vaccination levels fall, we see a rise in cases of vaccine-preventable illness (as was seen during the 2017 measles outbreak in a community in Minnesota).¹⁹

Studies show that provider recommendation is the most important factor in patients' decisions to vaccinate.

Even though many of us may not suffer severe consequences of an infection, we can still pass that infection to others. While the whooping cough that a healthy 35-year-old gets may cause only prolonged annoyance or time off from work, it can kill the baby that is sitting next to that adult on the plane or bus.

4. Isn’t it true that we see fewer serious illnesses because of improved hygiene and sanitation, rather than vaccines?

Our current US sanitation standards were established under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.²⁰ While improvements in hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, and other public health measures have undoubtedly decreased the spread of disease and improved survival rates, there is no denying the significant drop in disease that occurs after the introduction of a vaccine for a particular illness or the increase in cases of that disease when vaccination rates drop off.

Saying you don't need vaccinations because you never get sick is like saying you don't need to wear a seat belt because you've never been in a car accident.

By the early 1990s, our current sanitation standards were already well established. Yet we didn’t see a significant decrease in the incidence of infections with Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) until after the conjugate Hib vaccines were introduced (dropping from about 20,000 cases/year to 1419 cases/year by 1993).²¹

In Britain, a drop in the rate of pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination in 1974 resulted in an epidemic of more than 100,000 cases and 36 deaths by 1978. There was no decrease in hygiene or sanitation standards to explain this rise.²¹

Continue to: 5. Vaccines are just another way for "big pharma" to make "big money."