YOU ARE WATCHING
Vaccines: Separating Fact from Fear Video Series
This is the content
NOW PLAYING: 6 of 10
Is it Better to Be Naturally or Artificially Immunized?
Dr. Paul Offit explores the differences between natural infection and immunization, citing the cost of natural infection as high a high price to pay for what can be obtained through immunization. Carla Newby shares the cost of losing her son to meningitis before a meningococcal vaccine was available.
This video series answers questions many parents have about vaccines. It also contains the stories of several parents whose children suffered vaccine-preventable diseases.
Videos in this Series
- Introduction: Vaccine Safety Concerns
- Are Vaccinations Necessary?
- Are Vaccinations Safe?
- Why are There So Many Vaccines?
- Can My Baby Get Four or Five Vaccines at a Time?
- NOW PLAYING
Is it Better to Be Naturally or Artificially Immunized? - Is There a Link Between the MMR Vaccine and Autism?
- Do Vaccines Cause Chronic Illnesses?
- New Vaccines, Should You Wait?
- Vaccine Safety: Good Information vs. Bad Information
Transcript: Is it Better to Be Naturally or Artificially Immunized?
Parent: Is it better to be naturally infected than artificially infected through a vaccine?
Paul A. Offit, MD: I think that both natural infection and immunization often offer, you know, lifelong protection against disease. The difference between the two is the price that one pays for natural infection. I mean, for example, before the measles vaccine, almost all children in this country got measles. And when they got measles, most survived the infection. And when they survived the infection, they had immunity that would protect them against measles for the rest of their life. But every year before vaccination, about 100,000 children would be hospitalized, and several thousand children would die from measles. And, obviously, I mean, hospitalization is a very high price to pay for immunity when you can get essentially the same immunity without having to pay a price at all through vaccination.
Let's take a specific example. There's a bacteria called pneumococcus, which commonly infects infants and young children.
Carla Newby, parent: I had my children vaccinated with every vaccine they were supposed to get. I thought they were protected. I had no idea that meningitis could destroy my entire life.
Narrator: Carla Newby's son, Jacob, died from meningitis when he was 6 years old. One month later, she joined the Meningitis Foundation of America and is now its executive director.
Carla Newby, parent: It was six months after Jacob died that there was a vaccine that was available that was going to protect children against pneumococcal meningitis. My personal mission is to eliminate meningitis. I want to work myself out of a job. Not many people can say that or would say that, but that's my goal. I want to eliminate it, and I won't stop until it is. I want my son to be able to look down and say, "Good job mom, I'm proud of you. You're doing something." So he keeps me going. Keeps me doing it.
Paul A. Offit, MD: Every year pneumococcus causes about 1400 cases of meningitis, about 17,000 cases of bloodstream infections, and about 70,000 cases of pneumonia in children less than 5 years of age. So what can we do to prevent this? Well, the pneumococcal vaccine is given as a shot at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and again at 12 to 15 months of age. So the children can get the antibodies that they need to protect them against this serious and occasionally fatal infection.
Contact Us
We would like to hear from you. Please use our online form to contact us with questions or comments.