Medicines act according to a dose/effect principle; as soon as the supply of a drug ceases, the effects are over as well. Vaccinations follow a prime/boost mode of action; any contact with the antigen, whether as a vaccine or through contact with the actual pathogen, results in further strengthening of immunity. In addition, the immune system has memory: it remembers, which microorganism it previously had to deal with and how it got rid of them.

Vaccination is one of the most important success stories in medicine. Vaccines have eradicated or made extremely rare diseases that in the past have claimed thousands, sometimes millions, lives.

You may download the Austrian Vaccination Plan as a detailed document from the website of the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs. You may also view the summary table by clicking on it:

tabelle_impfplan_oesterreich_2018

Why vaccinate?

The Spanish flu at the end of the First World War demanded, according who’s estimate you apply, 50-100 million deaths in less than two years; a multiple of the fatalities caused by the acts of war during the preceding four years.

Measles is an infectious disease that contributed to the dramatically high child mortality of the past. In earlier centuries, it was normal for half the children born into a family to die at a young age. To a large part, we have to thank the broad application of vaccines for the enormous reduction in child mortality through the last 100 years.

Vaccinations

… protect naturally against infectious diseases

… are a milestone in 20th century medicine

… can be administered in various doses and frequencies

… protect non-vaccinated individuals via herd immunity

… are definitely not responsible for autism

… are not forced on us by the pharmaceutical industry

… have no toxic components

… do not cause a weakening of the immune system

… do not violate human rights

… have potential for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, transplantation

… are safe and effective!

Side effects

Yes there are! So what? What’s better: The full-blown disease following an infection with the microorganism, which is aimed at the final exploitation of its victim, or just some minor side effects, which are nothing more than the symptoms of the immune reaction against an intruder? What is redness at the injection site compared to a massively itchy rash spreading to the entire body? What is a bit of fever compared to day-long chills?

The babble of a certain Mr. Wakefield about the connection between the measles vaccination and the emergence of autism has long ago been refuted. The exclusively financial interest of this so-called physician was unmasked many years ago. It is not easy to understand why vaccine skeptics overslept these well-documented developments – or why the ignore them.

Training costs effort and sweat. It does not matter if I train my muscles or my immune system. Do we give up any physical activity because of the “side effect” of sore muscles? A little soreness is no reason to neglect the training. Likewise, vaccinations have to be seen as training for the immune system, which causes a little sweat – but definitively no blood or tears – and in the long run proves invaluable to our health.

Consequences of the disease vs vaccination side effects

¹ Guillain-Barré-syndrome; ² sub-acute sclerotic pan-encephalitis

Herd immunity

If nobody in my surroundings has the flu, I’m sure I will not get it – because who could infect me? The same goes for virtually every infectious disease. As the name suggests, it requires an infection to get an infectious disease. If the majority of a group of people – a herd – is protected against infection, it can not be transmitted.

This protects the old, the sick, and the weak. And it protects those who do not let themselves be vaccinated. A newborn who does not yet have immunity to a particular microorganism will become seriously ill if it becomes infected with this germ. If there are no infected people in the baby’s environment, it will stay healthy. Patients with cancer, whose immune system has been weakened by chemotherapy, can no longer ward off germs. It is therefore essential that nobody brings any pathogen into their environment.

Unvaccinated people are a walking health risk for those people who can not yet or no longer protect themselves. This is prevented by herd immunity. However, depending on the disease, about 90% of people in a society have to be immune either by way of vaccination or by having gone through the infection itself. Unvaccinated free-rider risk there own health but in addition endanger the health of everybody.

Facts & figures

The facts and figures on this page are from a brochure of the Austrian Ministry of Health.

Deaths compared pre/post-vaccination

Millions of people died of infectious diseases before vaccines were introduced.A particularly dramatic example is often the Spanish flu. During the years 1918/1919 it claimed an estimated 50-100 million lives worldwide – according who’s count you refer to. In any case this death rate far exceeds the number of deaths during the four years of the First World War.

Consequences of the disease vs vaccination side effects

¹ Guillain-Barré-syndrome; ² sub-acute sclerotic pan-encephalitis

Examples for nature and frequency of adverse reactions after application of dead vaccines

Fever

Fever in children = rectally measured body temperature > 38 ° C (roughly equivalent to the US definition: any temperature above 100 ° F = 37.8 ° C); the measurement under the armpits is less accurate and gives a value lower by 0.3° – 0.5°C. The measurement in the mouth is not advisable in children. The modern digital (= electronic, LCD) clinical thermometer or infrared thermometer (eardrum or forehead) are sufficiently accurate.