Immunisation is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine. "Anti-vaxxers” have firm convictions about vaccines’ harmful effects and many people believe their children have been harmed by vaccines. Others have ‘vaccine hesistancy’: they are not inherently anti-vaccine, but are concerned or confused by the mixed messages they are exposed to and want to do the best for their children.
Vaccines are safe
Until the beginning of the 20th Century, infectious diseases were the most common cause of death. This is no longer the case because of the development of vaccines. The reality is that vaccines have saved countless lives.
Vaccines save millions of lives
Vaccines are one of the most effective and cost-effective public health measures to prevent disease. Immunisation programmes internationally have contributed significantly to the decline, and in some cases eradication, of infectious diseases.
Big Pharma puts profit above safety, and promotes misinformation about the dangers of disease that our bodies are perfectly capable of fighting off without vaccinations.
The claim of a link between vaccines and autism
There is a persistent claim that vaccines can cause autism.
Some possible side effects of vaccine can be life-altering. Some have argued that while incredibly rare the causal link between vaccines and these side effects, mean that by vaccinating a person you risk causing them harm