Information you can share with community members you work with.
Working in community services, you may hear questions or concerns about immunizations from community members you work with. This page has accurate information you can share to address common questions. A printable format is available here.
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How vaccines work
- Vaccines train and strengthen our immune systems to recognize and resist harmful germs.
- Vaccines contain a harmless version of the germ. This can be a dead, weakened, or synthetically made version of a germ or part of a germ.
- Vaccines stimulate the immune system to make antibodies, special types of proteins that resist the disease. Our immune system keeps this memory to prevent infection if we encounter the disease in the future.
- When we teach languages to our kids, we know the younger they learn, the better they remember. Immunization works the same way. When kids are growing up, the immune system is developing. Vaccines are given at the right time for kids to develop the best immune response.
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How vaccines help children and communities to stay healthy
- Vaccines keep kids healthy so they can play, learn and grow, and keep their friends healthy too. When more kids have immunity, it’s harder for contagious diseases to spread.
- We can’t predict who will get exposed to diseases or which children will get seriously ill from diseases. Not getting vaccinated leaves children vulnerable.
- Many vaccine-preventable diseases are now rare in Canada. However, the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases still exist. If vaccination rates drop, these diseases can come back. We have seen this happen in Canada and other countries.
- It’s much safer to get a vaccine than to get the disease it prevents.
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Vaccines and long-term health problems
- We hear inaccurate and harmful rumors about vaccines causing long-term health problems in children. Online, these claims can spread easily although they are false or misleading. Still, they can be frightening for parents.
- Lots of research has been done to look at this and found no link between childhood vaccines and any long-term health problems.
- Because children with autism or developmental delays are often diagnosed after the age when they receive some vaccines, some people think that the vaccines caused the autism. But just because things happen close together does not mean that one thing caused the other.
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Vaccines testing and monitoring
- Vaccines are one of the most highly tested and monitored health products. They are tested more than most other medicines available in Canada.
- There are usually about 10 years of research and testing before vaccines are approved. Once vaccines are in use, every single batch of vaccine is tested.
- There are systems in Canada and globally that continually monitor how well vaccines work and if there are any side effects of vaccines. Nurses in public health and at children’s hospitals and pediatricians across the country are part of this monitoring.
- Each reported serious possible side effect from immunization is carefully reviewed.
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Vaccine ingredients
- Each vaccine ingredient is used only in very small amounts, and only necessary ingredients are included. The ingredients are carefully tested during safety studies.
- Some people worry that certain vaccine ingredients, like aluminum, gelatin, and formaldehyde might be harmful. But this is only true if they are present in much larger amounts than what is found in vaccines.
- For example, aluminum is one of the most common metals in our environment. It is naturally present in our water, soil, air, and even in our food and breast milk. Vaccines have far less aluminum compared to what babies are exposed to through their environment.
Support from public health
Public health nurses work with families to keep children healthy. They can answer any questions you have about vaccinations and make a plan together with you for your family. Find your local public health unit phone number here.
To see options for booking an immunization appointment, visit here.
Sources
- Immunization basics – Fraser Health
- Vaccine ingredients | HealthLink BC
- Immunization FAQ | HealthLink BC
- Immunization & Vaccines – BCCDC
- Immunization Communication Tool (2021) – BCCDC
- Vaccine safety: Canada’s system | Caring for Kids
- Are vaccines safe for children? Risks and benefits | HealthyChildren.org
- Clear answers and smart advice about your baby’s shots – Immunize.org