Last updated on September 9th, 2020 at 10:53 am
Today is 2020 Vaccine Day. It’s not an official holiday with Hallmark cards but it is an annual event where #DoctorsSpeakUp about vaccines and remind the world that vaccines stop diseases.
And they are safe.
And they are effective.
This article isn’t here to argue about some obscure point about vaccines like they don’t cause autoimmune diseases, because they don’t. I just want to cover some of the more important issues about vaccines about which I wrote over the past few years (I’ve been writing here since January 2012).
So, let’s celebrate the 2020 Vaccine Day, and I’m here to help #DoctorsSpeakUp.
2020 Vaccine Day – they’re safe
For 47 millionth time, vaccines are not linked to autism. There is no evidence that has ever shown a link between any vaccine and autism. And there has been plenty of evidence that has refuted that myth.
The HPV vaccine does not autoimmune diseases. Or ovarian insufficiency. It is extremely safe.
Vaccines are not linked to type 1 diabetes. They are not linked to autoimmune diseases. They are not linked to cancer. They are not linked to anything but preventing diseases.
Vaccines are not related in any way to the MTHFR gene mutation.
Vaccines are thoroughly tested.
2020 Vaccine Day – they’re effective
The HPV vaccine prevents several cancers – cervical, oropharyngeal, anal, and many other HPV-related cancers. There are precious few ways to prevent cancer, and the HPV vaccine is one of them.
Speaking of cancer, the hepatitis B vaccine prevents cancer.
The flu vaccine protects seniors.
The flu vaccine prevents deaths in children.
Varicella vaccine prevents chickenpox.
Hey, I could go on forever to support #DoctorsSpeakUp for 2020 Vaccine Day, but there are dozens of vaccines, and they all work very well.
2020 Vaccine Day – some people are quacks
Robert F. Kennedy Jr doesn’t know anything about vaccines. Really. I’m serious. Nothing. He does understand the science about climate change, but for purely arbitrary reasons, he rejects the science about vaccines.
Del Bigtree doesn’t know anything about vaccines. Really. I’m serious. But with a dash of holocaust denial.
Andrew Wakefield is a fraud.
Let’s wrap this up
The safety and effectiveness of vaccines are settled science. That doesn’t mean vaccine researchers will quit studying vaccines. That means that the overwhelming evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
As I keep saying if you want to “unsettle” the science, bring evidence. And to be clear, that evidence must be in the form of large clinical and/or epidemiological studies that have been published in important biomedical journals. Opinion pieces in predatory journals don’t count.
In the world of science, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Science has provided extraordinary evidence to support the extraordinary claims that vaccines are safe and effective. It is incumbent upon those who are trying to frighten people about vaccines to provide that same extraordinary evidence.
Vaccines save lives. And if the COVID-19 pandemic becomes more serious, potential new vaccines will be even more important in saving lives.
