Tag: side effects

I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in Flu Shots

Do you know any of these folks?

“I’m not anti-vaccine, I just don’t believe in flu shots.”

They likely get all other available vaccines for themselves and their kids, but for some reason, they skip the flu shot each year.

I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in Flu Shots

Are they just anti-flu vaccine? Is that a thing?

Gloria Copeland told her followers that they didn’t need flu vaccinations because Jesus already “redeemed us from the curse of the flu.”

Why don’t they “believe” in flu shots?

Typical answers you might get, if you ask, include:

I never get the flu – since about 5 to 20% of people get the flu each year, it is certainly possible that you never get the flu, especially if you aren’t around many other people that could spread the flu virus to you. But unless you live and work in a bubble, there is a good chance that you will eventually be exposed to someone with the flu, might catch the flu yourself, and will spread it to someone else.
I only get sick when I get a flu shot – flu shots are inactivated and can’t actually give you the flu. Even the live virus nasal mist flu vaccine won’t cause you to have the flu. While flu vaccines can cause mild flu side effects, if you get sick after after a flu shot, it could be that you have another respiratory virus, your flu vaccine didn’t have time to work, or that it wasn’t effective.
I don’t need a flu shot – you do, if you want to reduce your chances of getting the flu and having serious complications from a flu infection, which can affect anyone.
I got a flu shot last year – you need a flu vaccine each year
Flu vaccines don’t work – flu vaccines aren’t perfect, but they can reduce your risk of catching the flu and avoiding serious complications, even if you do get sick.
Flu shots are too expensive – most insurance plans cover the costs of flu vaccines, but if you don’t have insurance, it is sometimes possible to find free flu shots at a local health clinic, or you could get a flu shot for $24 at Walmart with a GoodRx coupon.
I don’t have time to get a flu shot – do you have time to get sick with the flu? Many doctors now offer regular flu clinics that make it convenient to just come in and get a flu vaccine or if that isn’t possible, you can likely get a flu vaccine at a nearby pharmacy.
Someone on the Internet told me to never get a flu shot because they are poison – if you are avoiding a flu vaccine because you are worried about thimerosal, miscarriages, that they contain a vaginal spermicide, or other misinformation, then you likely aren’t just anti-flu vaccine…
Gloria Copeland told me I didn’t need one – Jesus didn’t give us a flu shot and doesn’t want you to die with the flu, or measles.

Stop making excuses, none of which hold water.

Get your flu vaccine, preferably before flu season starts and you start seeing flu activity in your area.

Who Is Brandy Vaughan?

Have you ever heard of Brandy Vaughan?

It wouldn’t be surprising if you hadn’t, as the number of folks with their own anti-vaccine organizations has increased over the years. Where we once just had the NVIC, now it seems like everyone has their own anti-vaccine Facebook group. That doesn’t mean that the anti-vaccine movement is growing though, as they are all fighting for the same members.

And it is over this membership fight where some folks got an introduction to Brandy Vaughan. She recently got in a tussle with the organizer for a more popular group.

When Anti-Vax Folks Don’t Get Along

Did you know that the anti-vaccine movement is corrupt?

“A video I wish I didn’t have to make. When I started in this movement, I had no idea it would be as corrupt as pharma.
But I have had my eyes opened many times over…this video describes just one of many disappointments along the way: Larry Cook, who runs a popular page and group.

In the beginning, I believed what he told me and tried to look past the many odd comments and strange behaviors. But it ultimately became clear that he puts his own profit far ahead of our children.

That in and of itself wasn’t enough to motivate me to speak out and open myself up to the hundreds of attacks I would get, I kept hoping the truth would be exposed by someone else. And while some have tried, the past couple of weeks I have seen too much to stay silent any longer.”

Brandy Vaughn

What was her problem with Larry Cook? It’s hard to know, but it seemed to have something to do with the way he was raising money.

“Brandy and I have not communicated in over 18 months (or so). There was a time when I supported her immensely, and then we parted ways (hey, look at the screenshot and see what I wrote and how I wrote it). This is an absolute unjustified attack on my character and absolutely is defamation of character. It’s character assassination. And, already, a LOT of people have been posting hostile comments on my posts, and of course, elsewhere, and I recently learned even VINE is now in on this. So yes, I do need to make a statement about this considering how many people are now involved in this narcissist drama. This is the time to have discernment. If some of it is blatantly untrue, then perhaps the rest is as well. Please use your discernment before proceeding.”

Larry Cook

Folks who understand that what they call a movement is really an anti-vaccine industry, likely aren’t surprised by all of this. Through movies, videos, books, seminars, online stores selling supplements and detox kits, and simply asking for donations, there is a lot of motivation for folks to make you fear vaccines.

Who Is Brandy Vaughan?

Is Brandy Vaughn really one of the world's leading experts on the HPV vaccine? — Is Brandy Vaughan really one of the world’s leading experts on the HPV vaccine?

So who is Brandy Vaughan and what is her connection to the anti-vaccine movement?

Brandy Vaughan used to work for Merck, but she isn’t an immunologist or vaccine researcher. She is a former pharmaceutical representative.

Was she a pharmaceutical representative for Merck vaccines?

Nope. She sold Vioxx, a painkiller that was taken off the market in 2004 because of safety problems and led to $5 billion in lawsuits.

And many years later, as lawmakers in California worked to increase vaccination rates, she created an organization to educate “the public on vaccine risk and dangers.”

This type of anti-vaccine propaganda never mentions the risks of leaving your kids unvaccinated.

Seems like she didn’t like the idea of having to vaccinate her “vaccine-free” son.

How does she educate people?

She raises money and puts up billboards that warn about what she thinks are the risks of vaccines.

She never seems to mention the risks of leaving kids unvaccinated though.

And she seems to encourage other parents to leave anti-vaccine propaganda wherever they can.

Depending on where you live, you might find their ‘risk’ cards in books at the library, stuck to cans of baby formula, or at the grocery store.

Why do they do it?

Because they think that vaccines aren’t safe and that they are injuring and damaging children.

“I’m tired of all the LIES LIES LIES. The chemical additives in vaccines have absolutely no place injected into the human body and are causing irreparable damage. And we are being lied to for profit— vaccines are NOT safe, just as most pharmaceutical drugs are not safe. They all have side effects. With vaccines, there are too many, too soon and this entire generation of children is suffering because of it. People have the RIGHT to know the risks before they do something that may change their lives forever — or the life of their innocent, healthy child.”

Brandy Vaughan

Of course, the overwhelming evidence shows that vaccines are safe and that most side effects are mild. Kids today do get more vaccines, but they protect them from many more diseases, life-threatening diseases, that children used to get very routinely.

Learn the Risks from Brandy Vaughan

Brandy Vaughn wants to teach you about the risks of vaccines.

“Everything I have gone through in my life has been in preparation for this moment. This is why I am who I am. All the pieces of puzzle are coming together. This is why I am here in this world. This is my calling, my purpose. In fact, I often feel like this work is being done through me, not actually by me. I feel like I am floating in a river just going with the current — I don’t even have to swim and I’m fully in the flow.”

Brandy Vaughan

But not the normal risks, like that your kids might get a fever, be fussy, or have some pain after their vaccines. Her organization’s idea of the risk of vaccine comes from the viewpoint that vaccines “have no place in the human body.”

She also believes that:

everyone needs to detox because “we are all exposed to a massive amount of toxins from our environment, and particularly from vaccines.” And of course, she sells essential oils and supplements to help you detox.
it’s good to get sick because “there are many benefits to common illnesses”
vaccines “cannot create real immunity”
if you have cancer, you should “say NO to chemotherapy and radiation (get off all medications and no vaccines!)” because “traditional medical approaches (drugs, chemo, radiation) only FURTHER damage the body and immune system”

This is likely why experts in Perth, Australia are trying to keep her latest billboard from staying up in their city.

Learn the Risk billboard

They likely see all three components of anti-vaccine propaganda that the rest of us see:

Making parents think vaccines are dangerous by overstating the side effects and risks of getting vaccinated, pushing vaccine scare stories, and the idea of vaccine induced diseases. And never mentioning any of the many benefits of vaccines.
Making parents think that it’s no big deal to get measles or polio, by underestimating the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and overstating the benefits of natural immunity over the protection you can get from vaccines.
Making you think that vaccines don’t even work.

Whether these billboards stay up or not, parents only need to know one thing. The organization behind them isn’t helping them make an educated choice for their family. Don’t be scared into making a poor decision of skipping or delaying your child’s vaccines and leaving them unprotected. Be skeptical and learn the risks of getting the answers to your questions about vaccines from these folks.

Vaccines are safe and necessary. Vaccines Work.

Learn the Risks of Folks Like Brandy Vaughan

Brandy Vaughan and her organization scare parents away from vaccines by overstating, and in some cases, making up risks of vaccines.

Can I Give My Kids Tylenol When They Have Their Vaccines?

Many parents ask about acetaminophen (Tylenol) when kids get their vaccines.

Is it okay to give kids Tylenol when they get their shots?

The Tylenol and Vaccines Controversy

As you can probably guess, there is no real controversy about Tylenol and vaccines.

Instead, what we are talking about are the myths surrounding Tylenol and vaccines that anti-vaccine folks have created, including that:

giving Tylenol right before a child gets their shots somehow increases the risk that they will have side effects
giving Tylenol right after a child gets their shots somehow masks the symptoms of serious vaccine damage
giving Tylenol after the MMR vaccine is associated with developing autism

Fortunately, most parents understand that like other anti-vaccine misinformation, none of these statements are true.

Why do some folks believe it?

Well, there have been studies warning people about giving Tylenol before vaccines. It had nothing to do with side effects though. They suggested that a vaccine might be less effective if the child got Tylenol before his vaccines. It is important to note that they never really found that the vaccines didn’t work as well, as all of the kids in the study still had protective levels of antibodies, they were just a little lower than kids who didn’t get Tylenol.

Other studies have found the same effect if Tylenol was given after a child got his vaccines. Although interestingly, other studies have found that giving Tylenol after vaccines does not affect antibody titers.

“Antibody titres to diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis bacteria of the placebo (n = 25) and acetaminophen (n = 34) groups did not differ significantly from each other. It is concluded that acetaminophen in a single dose schedule is ineffective in decreasing post-vaccination fever and other symptoms.”

Uhari et al on Effect of prophylactic acetaminophen administration on reaction to DTP vaccination

Giving Tylenol after the MMR vaccine is not associated with autism.

The only thing that this had to do with side effects though, is that the kids who got Tylenol had a little less fever.

Could giving Tylenol mask something like encephalitis, which some anti-vaccine folks think can be vaccine induced?

Nope. It typically can’t even keep someone from getting a febrile seizure.

What about the association of MMR, Tylenol and autism? Although one study did suggest that to be true, the study, a parental survey, was found to be “fatally flawed.”

Can I Give My Kids Tylenol When They Have Their Vaccines?

So, can you give your kids Tylenol when they get their vaccines?

The better question is, should you give your kids Tylenol either before or after they get their vaccines?

Have some Tylenol or Motrin on hand after your kids get their vaccinations, just in case they need a dose. Photo by Vincent Iannelli, MD

Notwithstanding the very small chance that giving Tylenol might cause decreased immunogenicity (lower antibody production) if you give it before your kids get their vaccines, since there is a good chance that they won’t have any pain or fever and won’t even need any Tylenol, then why give it?

Skip the “just in case” dose and wait and see if they even need it.

What about afterwards?

If your kids have pain or fever and are uncomfortable, then you should likely give them something for pain or fever control, such as an age appropriate dose of either acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Will that cause lower antibody production? Maybe. Will that mean that their vaccines won’t work. That’s doubtful. It certainly won’t lead to increased side effects though, unless they a reaction to the dose of Tylenol itself.

Should you give a pain or fever reducer after a vaccine “just in case?” Again, there is a good chance that your kids might not need it, so it is likely better to wait and see if they do, instead of giving a dose automatically after their shots.

There is even some evidence that giving acetaminophen or ibuprofen before vaccines, or as a routine dose right after, especially with booster shots, doesn’t really prevent side effects that well anyway. They work better if given on an as needed basis instead, and these kinds of doses are less likely to be associated with decreased antibody production.

What to Know About Tylenol and Vaccines

Giving a pain or fever reducer either before or after your child’s vaccinations likely won’t affect how it works, but since it often isn’t necessary, it is likely best to only given one, like Tylenol or Motrin, if it is really needed.

I Refuse to Listen to Bad Advice About Flu Shots, and I Won’t Apologize for It

The only thing that seems to be more rampant than the flu this season are the articles pushing people to skip a flu shot.

POPSUGAR moms will hopefully go somewhere else for advice about flu shots.

They. Are. Everywhere.

I Refuse to Listen to Bad Advice About Flu Shots

Why are we seeing so many folks attacking flu shots lately?

It’s simple. A bad flu season reminds people that they should get vaccinated and protected. We see the same thing when there are outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis, etc.

And then those folks who are truly anti-vaccine have to come out and justify why they still don’t believe in vaccines.

That leaves us with arguments like this:

“Whenever I start to get worried that I’ll end up with the flu if I don’t get the shot, I remember that it isn’t always effective.”

Jen Glantz on Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot?

It is true that the flu shot is not always effective, but if you are only going to use things that are 100% effective, then why would you take “lots of vitamins and natural supplements” when you have the flu, things that have been shown to be ineffective?

“Side effects can include soreness around the injection side, a low-grade fever for a few days, and muscle aches. Now, I know that this may seem like a small price to pay to avoid getting the full-blown flu, but if I can avoid any sickness at all, why not try?”

Jen Glantz on Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot?

Uh, if you want to try and avoid any sickness, why not get a flu shot? Even when it isn’t as effective as we would like, a flu shot can help reduce your chance of hospitalization, serious flu complications, and of dying with the flu.

“Have you ever taken a step back and learned more about what the heck is actually inside the flu shot? ”

Jen Glantz on Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot?

I know exactly what’s in the flu shot.

Does anyone at POPSUGAR?

Got something you want published online? Head over to POPSUGAR... — Got something you want published online? Head over to POPSUGAR…

Even with a disclaimer from an Editor, POPSUGAR should be ashamed of themselves for publishing an article that says the flu shot is filled with toxins. In addition to an ingredients list, the CDC explains that “all ingredients either help make the vaccine, or ensure the vaccine is safe and effective.”

Flu shot ingredients are not toxins!

“Instead of injecting myself with toxins, I do things like practice good hygiene, take lots of vitamins and natural supplements, and rely on my body and it’s strength to fight off any unwanted bacteria. The human body is an incredible thing, and I trust it. I also like it to ride out things naturally.”

Jen Glantz on Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot?

The flu is a virus, not a bacteria, but I get the point that the author is attempting to make. The thing is though, that while the human body is certainly incredible, relying on it to get you over the flu is not always an easy ride. We often have to pay a high price for natural immunity.

And the people who die with the flu don’t die because of poor hygiene or because they don’t take enough vitamins and supplements. They die because they have the flu. And more often than not, especially in the case of children, because they are unvaccinated.

“For some people, getting the flu shot is at the very top of their to-do list, but for me, it’s something I refuse to do. And that’s OK too.”

Jen Glantz on Do You Need To Get A Flu Shot?

It is certainly OK that Jen Glantz doesn’t get a flu shot each year. At least it is OK as long as she doesn’t get the flu and give it to someone else.

It is not OK that POPSUGAR gives her a voice on such an important topic. Don’t listen to them.

It’s not as big a deal when she writes about the “importance” of drinking both hot and cold water each day, drinking apple cider vinegar for bloating, the best baby names of the year, or how to pee when wearing a wedding dress. That’s the kind of clickbait type content you expect from a POPSUGAR type site.

But scaring people and making them think that there are toxins in flu shots?

Save it for GOOP.

What to Know About Bad Flu Shot Advice

This year’s bad flu season wasn’t limited to folks getting sick… There was also a lot of bad flu shot advice going around.

Can Vaccines Cause ITP?

ITP is an abbreviation for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

It is a condition in which our platelets get destroyed, leading to excessive bruising and bleeding, since platelets are needed for normal blood clotting.

What Causes ITP?

To understand what causes ITP, it is important to know it is also often referred to as immune thrombocytopenic purpura, because it is typically the cells of our own immune system that destroys our platelets.

Why?

Well, that’s where the idiopathic part comes in.

We don’t know why people develop ITP, although classically, ITP is thought to follow a viral infection, including Epstein-Barr virus (mono), influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chicken pox). ITP has also been associated with many other viral infections, from Dengue fever to Zika.

“Often, the child may have had a virus or viral infection approximately three weeks before developing ITP. It is believed that the body’s immune system, when making antibodies to fight against a virus, “accidentally” also made an antibody that can stick to the platelet cells. The body recognizes any cells with antibodies as foreign cells and destroys them. Doctors think that in people who have ITP, platelets are being destroyed because they have antibodies.”

Pediatric Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP)

These children with ITP, usually under age 5 years, develop symptoms a few days to weeks after their viral infections. Fortunately, their platelet counts usually return to normal, even without treatment, within about 2 weeks to 6 months. Treatments are available if a child’s platelet count gets too low though.

Can Vaccines Cause ITP?

The measles vaccine is the only vaccine that has been clearly associated with ITP.

“The available data clearly indicate that ITP is very rare and the only vaccine for which there is a demonstrated cause-effect relationship is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine that can occur in 1 to 3 children every 100,000 vaccine doses.”

Cecinati on Vaccine administration and the development of immune thrombocytopenic purpura in children

Even then though, the risk of ITP after a measles containing vaccine, like MMR or ProQuad, is much less than after getting a natural measles infection, so worry about ITP is a not a good reason to skip or delay getting vaccinated.

What about other vaccines?

There is no good evidence that other vaccines, including the chicken pox vaccine, DTaP, hepatitis B vaccine, or flu vaccine, etc., cause ITP.

What about Gardasil? ITP is listed in the package insert as an adverse reaction for Gardasil, but only in the postmarketing experience section, so it does not mean that the vaccine actually caused the reaction, just that someone reported it.

Although ITP is listed in the PI for Gardasil, studies have shown that there is no association.

Several large studies have actually been done that found no increased risk for ITP after getting vaccinated with Gardasil.

What to Know About Vaccines and ITP

Although measles containing vaccines can rarely cause ITP, vaccines prevent many more diseases that can cause ITP.

Myths About the Yellow Fever Vaccine

Endemic yellow fever was eliminated in the United States in 1905, way before the first yellow fever vaccine was developed (1935) and licensed (1953).

How did that work?

Yellow fever is a now vaccine preventable disease that is spread by mosquito bites.

In the United States, it was actually eliminated by controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread the yellow fever virus before the vaccine was even developed. These control efforts were also done in Cuba, Panama, and Ecuador, etc., places where yellow fever was common and led to outbreaks in the United States.

Why Haven’t We Eradicated Yellow Fever?

So why is yellow fever still a problem if we can control the the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the yellow fever virus?

“Mosquitoes breed in tropical rainforests, humid, and semi-humid environments, as well as around bodies of still water in and close to human habitations in urban settings. Increased contact between humans and infected mosquitoes, particularly in urban areas where people have not been vaccinated for yellow fever, can create epidemics.”

Yellow fever: Questions and Answers

It’s because we can control the mosquitoes in urban areas, in and around cities. You can’t really control or eliminate mosquitoes in tropical rain forest regions, which is why it is difficult to eradicate yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever, and other mosquito borne diseases.

But we have a vaccine, don’t we?

“Eradication of yellow fever is not feasible since we are unable to control the virus in the natural animal hosts.”

Yellow fever: Questions and Answers

Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones who can become infected with yellow fever. Monkeys get infected with the yellow fever virus in rain forests, infect Haemagogus and Sabethes mosquitoes, which bite people in those areas.

“Urban transmission of yellow fever virus occurs when the virus is spread from human to human by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.”

Yellow fever – Brazil

That likely means that yellow fever will never be completely eradicated, unlike small pox.

Yellow Fever Vaccines Myths

But just because yellow fever can’t be eradicated doesn’t mean that it can’t be eliminated.

A single dose of the yellow fever vaccine is safe and provides life-long protection for 99% of people.

“Vaccination is the most powerful known measure for yellow fever prevention: a single dose can provide life-long immunity at a cost of approximately US$1.”

WHO on Eliminating Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy: Meeting demand for yellow fever vaccines

And as cases of yellow fever increase in some countries, like Brazil, getting more people vaccinated is the only way to stop this deadly disease.

People line up to get a yellow fever vaccine near Kinshasa. Photo by WHO/E. Soteras Jalil

Tragically, anti-vaccination myths and misinformation may be keeping folks from getting vaccinated and protected. Propaganda and anti-vaccine scare videos have them thinking that the yellow fever vaccine is dangerous, part of a conspiracy to depopulate the world, or that it doesn’t work.

It is also important to know that:

When traveling to or from some countries, a yellow fever vaccine isn’t enough – you need an International Certificate of Vaccination proving that you were vaccinated.

You should not skip getting the yellow fever vaccine if you are traveling to an area where yellow fever is endemic, including many parts of areas of Africa and South America.
While you are most at risk during the rainy season, especially during outbreaks, it is also possible to get yellow fever during the dry season.
Yellow fever is a serious, life-threatening disease.
There is no cure for yellow fever.
While serious side effects to the yellow fever vaccine have been reported, including anaphylaxis, yellow fever vaccine-associated neurologic disease (YEL-AND), and yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease (YEL-AVD), they are very rare.
The yellow fever vaccine is a live virus vaccine, but shedding is not an issue. Unless at a high risk of exposure, getting the yellow fever vaccine is usually not recommended if you are pregnant or breastfeeding though.
It is not usually necessary to get a booster dose of the yellow fever vaccine.
Some countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination if you have traveled from a country where there is still a risk of getting yellow fever, so that you don’t import yellow fever into their country.

As yellow fever cases are on the rise in Brazil, with an associated increase in travel associated cases, it is important that everyone understand that vaccines are safe and necessary.

What to Know About Yellow Fever Vaccine Myths

Yellow fever cases are increasing and so are anti-vaccine myths about the yellow fever vaccine, which are keeping some folks from getting vaccinated and protected, even as they are threatened by a potential outbreak.

Which Vaccine Is the Most Dangerous?

In 2002, Dan Rather did a report for 60 Minutes on “The Most Dangerous Vaccine.”

Can you guess which vaccine he was reporting on?

Which Vaccine Is the Most Dangerous?

You are thinking his report was about MMR, the so-called “autism shot,” right?

“And then the nurse gave my son that shot. And I remember going, “Oh, God, no!” And soon thereafter I noticed a change. The soul was gone from his eyes.”

Jenny McCarthy on Oprah

It was around the time that the “media’s MMR hoax” was in high gear.

“Whatever you think about Andrew Wakefield, the real villains of the MMR scandal are the media.”

Ben Goldacre on The MMR story that wasn’t

But 60 Minutes had already done a segment on “The MMR Vaccine” with Andrew Wakefield back in 2000.

The smallpox vaccine was considered the most dangerous as President Bush decided whether or not it was necessary to vaccinate millions against this deadly disease.

No, this story was about the smallpox vaccine.

And if you had to rank vaccines from safest to most dangerous, then yes, you could say that the original smallpox vaccine, the one with the most side effects, is the most dangerous.

Fortunately, that very same smallpox vaccine helped eradicate smallpox and few of us need to even think about getting a smallpox vaccine. It is still given to some folks in the military though and is available if necessary.

The story was about a plan to vaccinate many more people, including hospital workers. At the time, there was a worry about terrorist attacks using smallpox.

“Here’s another way to do it. We can make the vaccine. Make sure we understand who’s going to get it, who’s going to be giving it. Then wait, wait for there to be one case of documented smallpox somewhere on the face of this earth and then we can move into vaccinating people, large numbers of people.”

Paul Offit, MD

Not everyone was on board with the plan though. Dr. Offit, for one, didn’t think that it was a good idea to start vaccinating people for a threat that we didn’t know would appear, especially since the older smallpox vaccine had more side effects than other, more modern vaccines.

Again, that doesn’t mean that the smallpox vaccine is dangerous.

Smallpox is dangerous and deadly. If there is a risk that you could get smallpox, then you would much rather have the smallpox vaccine, even with its side effect profile.

And fortunately, a new attenuated smallpox vaccine, Imvamune, is also available and has less side effects. Two other smallpox vaccines, ACAM2000 and APSV, which are similar to the original DryVax vaccine that was used in the US, are also still being used until Imvamune is formally approved by the FDA.

Vaccine preventable diseases are dangerous.

While they aren’t 100% without risk, vaccines, from rotavirus to HPV, are safe and necessary.

What To Know About the Most Dangerous Vaccine

All vaccines are safe and effective, but if you had to rank them, the original smallpox vaccine would be the most dangerous because it has the most side effects.

VAXOPEDIA

I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in Flu Shots

I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in Flu Shots

More on Being Anti-Flu Vaccine