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“Vaccines provide immunity.”

“Vaccines save lives.”

“Vaccines provide herd immunity.”

All the above statements have also passed my lips. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of the Limitations of Vaccine Effectiveness section on most manufacturer inserts.

Typically within Section 5, the manufacturer may disclose that vaccination may not protect all individuals. Unfortunately, no further data may be provided, however it is very concerning that a product routinely said to be effective states this on the manufacturer insert. For example, this is from the DTAP insert:

If a product may not protect all the individuals that have been vaccinated, then wouldn’t herd immunity not be accomplished either?

Also, we just learned from the CDC in the previous lesson that, “Individuals who receive IPV (polio) vaccine usually do not shed virus in nasopharynx but excrete virus in stools following exposure to wild or vaccine poliovirus.” This means that even vaccinated individuals shed the virus (vaccine or wild) to those around them. This is not protecting the “herd.”

When researching a medical product, the first question should be “is it effective?” Because it doesn’t matter if it’s safe if it doesn’t work. Why take a safe product if it doesn’t accomplish the task you expect it to perform?

Per vaccine manufacturers, not all individuals that accept vaccines are protected. In my opinion, this does not meet the definition of “effective.”

The second question to ask when researching a medical product concerns safety. If the product is effective, is it also safe? And not safe in relation to anything else. Is it safe period? Head to the next lesson to learn more!