With every plus, there comes a minus, and vaccinations are no exception to that rule.
As Durham residents prepare to roll up their sleeves, or in some cases button them down tight, it's important to know not only the risks of getting a shot, but the risks of not getting vaccinations as well.
The annual promotion of seasonal flu shots, along with the ongoing campaign to encourage vaccination against the human papillomavirus, for example, often raise concerns among residents as to the side effects and the component materials that make up vaccines.
There's no doubt that the path to hell can be paved with good intentions.
Kaitlyn Armstrong, a teenager in Durham Region discovered that last year, when a series of shots intended to protect young women instead left her in constant pain. Her mother, Yvonne Armstrong, said a heavy concentration of aluminum in the vaccine led to an allergic reaction, as Kaitlyn is allergic to metals. She had no clue this was an ingredient -- something she always looks for as it's a long-standing allergy of Kaitlyn's.
Kaitlyn's case is unfortunate. It's awful when someone tries to do the right thing for their health and it ends up hurting them instead.
But vaccinations have been saving lives for generations and have nearly succeeded, for example, in eradicating polio. If people begin rejecting vaccinations, who knows what diseases will reappear?
Consider pertussis (whooping cough). Earlier this year, Ontario saw several cases recorded in Ontario.
According to the World Health Organization, immunizations save two to three million lives every year. From infants to senior citizens, immunization prevents debilitating illness, disability and death from diseases such as diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps, pneumococcal disease, polio, meningitis and some cancers. However, because they've been so effective, some parents and health-care professions no longer feel vaccines are necessary, leading to diseases such as measles and polio making a comeback, the WHO continued.
There are risks to everything -- the medications we take, personal-care products we use, even the food we eat. When deciding whether to get a vaccination, consider the risks apparent on either side of that decision.
On a percentage basis, side effects are extremely small, especially in comparison to the effects of catching one of the diseases or viruses these vaccines are intended to prevent.
-- Metroland Media Group Ltd., Durham Region Division