Category: Vaccines

Q: Will too many shots overload my child’s immune system? One parent observed that in the span of a few hours a North American child may eat her own nasal discharge, kiss the dog on the lips, taste the handrail at the airport, and still be able to survive quite nicely. The immune system is remarkably robust. Careful and thorough studies done under the watchful eye of the FDA have shown that many vaccines can be given on the same day without a decrease in effectiveness or an increase in side effects. The same natural immune system that protects us from the multitude

Vaccines often contain antibiotics as well as preservatives to prevent bacteria from growing, stabilizers to maintain the vaccine’s effectiveness, and adjuvants to stimulate production of antibodies. Although present only in minute amounts, these additives play an important role in vaccines. Some vaccine additives, such as thimerosal, aluminum, and formaldehyde, are controversial. Antibiotics Antibiotics prevent germs from growing in the vaccine cultures.  Neomycin is commonly used, but penicillin and related antibiotics are not used in vaccines because many people are allergic to them. Preservatives Vaccine vials that contain several doses need preservatives because each time a needle enters the vial there is a

Live, attenuated vaccines Live vaccines are made from live viruses that have been grown under special laboratory conditions so they are weakened, or attenuated, and thereby do not cause the symptoms or complications of the disease. But they do produce immunity, because the live vaccine virus displays the same special markers on its outer surface as the wild-type virus. When the live vaccine virus enters the body and begins replicating itself, the immune system jumps into action. Each component of the immune system does its part to process and destroy the antigen, and memory cells develop to guard against the next invasion of

The Immune System Analogies are powerful. A good analogy is useful for illustrating a point. But sometimes people overextend or read too much into analogies, often ending up far from the truth. When talking about the immune system, a lot of people use words like “weak” or “strong.” It is fine to use these descriptions that make the immune system sound like a muscle, but we should not take this analogy too far. A muscle atrophies if not used; the immune system does not. A muscle becomes exhausted by overuse; the immune system does not. It is more useful, and more