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Vaccines help keep everyone safe from diseases, both individually and on a community level, and have been used in some form since the 18th century. But in the last few decades, misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines has been spreading, leading to lower vaccination rates.
- Are vaccines safe?
- How do vaccines work?
- Do vaccines cause autism?
- Can you get sick from vaccines?
- What are the risks and benefits of getting vaccinated?
- Why should people get vaccinated if they are healthy?
Key Definitions
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Vaccine: A preparation that is used to activate the body’s immune response against diseases
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Antibody: A protein part of the immune system that circulates in the blood, recognizes foreign things like bacteria and viruses, and neutralizes them
- Herd/community immunity: The indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection
Recommended Reads
Research and Learn with Online Resources
Other Resources
Articles
Measles cases are rising in the US. Here’s why misinformation about the vaccine persists today, PBS NewsHour, February 23, 2024
This article describes the ongoing increase in measles cases in the US and around the world. The article goes into the causes behind the increase and what can be done to prevent misinformation about the measles vaccine.
Videos
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health put together this video once the Covid-19 vaccines were created to help people understand how exactly mRNA vaccines work. The video addresses common misconceptions about how these vaccines affect the body, like if it interacts with DNA or if it infects people with the disease itself.
Do Babies Get Too Many Vaccines?
This video was made by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and addresses a common concern that parents have related to vaccines. A pediatrician explains why babies get so many vaccines and how their bodies handle them.
Government Websites
US Department of Health and Human Services
This government website is another resource for finding an overview of vaccines, from their safety and efficacy to vaccination timelines and vaccination rates. You can explore the vaccines by specific diseases and see who should get them and when. The website also has information and further resources explaining how vaccines work and how we know that they work.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
General information about different vaccines can be found on the CDC’s website, but this webpage specifically looks at stopping misinformation related to covid vaccines.