Vaccines aren’t cool these days — at least that’s how many young people seem to feel. A recent ABC-Washington Post poll reports that only 28 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 plan to get the H1N1 vaccine, a lower percentage than older age groups.
This apparent generational gap might result from fact that only older individuals have lived in an America ravaged by smallpox and polio — diseases that have since been wiped out by vaccines.
Vaccination is a victim of its own success. Without witnessing its remarkable impact first-hand, younger people are more receptive to anti-vaccine rhetoric. This may spark a resurgence in preventable diseases like measles and blunt our ability to tackle epidemics.
Throughout the ongoing H1N1 flu epidemic, wing-nuts like Bill Maher and Glenn Beck have made erroneous claims that the vaccine can cause the flu and that the shot is deadly.
Fears have been fueled by popular YouTube videos, including a purported “infectious disease expert” campaigning against the vaccine on Fox News and a shocking clip showing a former NFL cheerleader who developed a rare neurological disorder after getting the season flu vaccine.
Unfortunately, many have not noticed that Dr. Kent Holtorf, the “expert” who spoke out against H1N1 vaccination on Glenn Beck’s show, actually practices controversial “natural bioidentical hormone replacement” therapy and has no infectious disease background to speak of.
His assertion that vaccines might cause autism in some children should call his legitimacy into question, given that every validated study, including a comprehensive safety review published by the Institute of Medicine, report that there is no link whatsoever between vaccines and autism.
As for Desiree Jennings, the aspiring cheerleader diagnosed with dystonia, the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation gathered opinions from neurologists who watched the clip, reporting that “this case does not appear to be dystonia,” and “there has never been a validated case of dystonia resulting from a flu shot.”
The point is that, like other vaccines, the H1N1 shot is safe and effective. Granted, there is still a chance of adverse effects, but the risks are remarkably low.
The most dreaded of these side effects is Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a form of descending paralysis that can be fatal but usually results in a near full recovery. An IOM review concluded that the 1976 swine flu vaccine slightly increased the risk of GBS, but such increased risks have not been seen with flu shots since.
Eighty to 160 people are diagnosed with GBS per week, even during flu’s off-season, meaning the vaccine is wrongly blamed for cases that would have occurred anyway.
More importantly, H1N1 has claimed an estimated 3,900 American lives, including many young, healthy victims. Compare that to the 13 reported deaths following vaccination, which may or may not be caused by the vaccine.
Skeptics will correctly assert that most cases of H1N1 are mild. But the same is true of most car accidents and, even though there is a small chance that seat belts could seriously injure you, the risk is too low to dissuade sensible people from buckling up.
The same logic should be used for getting the flu shot.
Andrew Moon is a second-year medical school student from Durham. Contact Andrew at andrew_moon@med.unc.edu.
