I used to be one of those science-loving people who was rather dismissive and antagonistic toward the antivax crowd, but I have changed my mind.
Last week, in an effort to be a responsible caretaker of my elderly grandparents, I received the pneumovax shot for the prevention of pneumonia and other pneumococcal diseases. As I always do, I read up on the side effects(PDF) before the injection, and noted this statement:
“About half of people who get PPSV have mild side effects, such as redness or pain where the shot is given. Less than 1% develop a fever, muscle aches, or more severe local reactions. A vaccine, like any medicine, could cause a serious reaction. But the risk of a vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small.”
That all seems very reasonable, doesn’t it? I expected my arm would be sore for a day or two and that I’d carry on with my daily life. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
My arm was sore immediately after receiving the vaccine. Nothing seemed unusual—until a few hours later when I could not lift my arm very well and my entire body began to ache severely. I also became very tired. Initially I just thought that I was merely feeling the effects of a busy day and went to bed early.
When I woke the next morning I realized that I was having an acute reaction
to the pneumovax. I’m often stiff and achy upon waking due to an underlying chronic pain condition, but this hurting was far beyond my typical experience. I had extreme pain throughout my body with the slightest movement and could not even walk down stairs. I was unable to lift my left arm and the most miniscule touch near the injection site felt like a stab with a gigantic, dull knife. Furthermore there was a large, palpable lump where the needle punctured my skin. An unseen force crushed my head and the sound of a phone call or the glimmer of a ray of light through the window sent a lightning bolt into my skull. I was intermittently warm and cold and my trusty thermometer confirmed a fever. Attempts to alleviate my misery with hyrocodone, acetaminophen, ice packs and homemade soup were ineffective.
My life was thoroughly miserable for about three days and my symptoms took a full week to completely resolve. I was aching, frustrated, and extremely annoyed. Of all the emotional responses I could have had to my awful condition, I was decidedly not scared because I educated myself before receiving the injection; therefore I knew why I felt horrible; I understood what was happening to me. I’m resentful that I became part of the 1% of pneumovax recipients that have a severe reaction, but I know that 1% is not 0% and therefore is still ever so slightly possible.
The rare side effects that I experienced could be terrifying for someone unaware of the CDC fact sheet on pneumovax. I can imagine the fear a parent would feel to see a child in such severe agony, unable to take away the pain. It isn’t hard to understand why people are afraid of vaccinations. My experience, although very rare, still happens. One percent doesn’t sound like much, but when hundreds of thousands of people are vaccinated (and hopefully more), the numbers add up and should not be taken lightly.
Widespread vaccination is extremely important for the collective health of society, but it is important to be cognizant of the side effects of inoculations before administration. When we encounter people that are scared of injections their concerns should be addressed with compassion and scientific data, not flippantly dismissed as the ravings of anti-science lunatics. I consider the days that I lost to pain and fever to be an acceptable trade for the prevention of pneumonia, meningitis and even death for myself and family (we’ve all been pneumovaxed) because I know that vaccines transformed the rate of disease incidence and contribute to a higher quality of life for great portions of humanity. They are tested, verified and reliable. The science is reassuring, especially in the face of a rare, yet predictable reaction.
In my opinion as a non-scientist, vaccinations are solidly in the top three of the greatest advances in the history of medicine, along with antibiotics and the germ theory of disease. To know that I am protected against such scourges as smallpox, typhoid, rubella and mumps gives me great comfort. I am well aware that a vaccination is not an ironclad guarantee against infection, as I contracted pertussis when I was in high school, but I am a strong, vocal promoter of inoculation nonetheless. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risk.
I am a firm believer in adherence to the Centers for Disease Control’s vaccination schedule because vaccines are scientifically proven to be safe, beneficial and have transformed society. Here in America we no longer have children living out their lives in iron lungs due to affliction with polio or quarantined due to outbreaks of other diseases that used to be commonplace, with few exceptions. It is troubling to see epidemics of pertussis and measles due to fear of vaccine injury that is borne of bad science and faulty reasoning.
It is easy to dismiss parents that tremble at the thought of their children getting jabbed as hysterical, dangerous and even silly, but it is important to remember that side effects, even severe ones, do happen. Communication of the facts about vaccine effectiveness, risks and overwhelming benefits are the best tools for countering anti-vaccination fears. Belittlement, condescension and dismissive epithets do nothing to comfort a parent faced with a child in pain. So, in the paraphrased spirit of my mom, Dr. Phil Plait and others, DBAD.
Sorry you were one of the unlucky ones!
In Australia we have just had a higher than expected incidence of febrile convulsions caused by one brand of the seasonal flu vaccine, with about 251 children hospitalised. I know intellectually that this doesn’t count as a severe reaction but I also know how I would feel if it happened to my children! The vaccination programme was suspended for under 5s and I’m pretty sure they have identified the culprit. I agree completely that parents should not be talked down to, and need to have things simply and clearly explained. I’m also one of those who doesn’t see dickish behaviour as useful.
However a parent comforting a child or contemplating vaccination is very different to those who are promoting lies and propaganda. With those leaders of the anti-vax movement education hasn’t worked. People in Australia have successfully put in complaints about the Australian Vaccination Network and it has been declared a danger to public health, lost its charity fundraising status, is now unable to sell information packs that breach copyright and may face action from authors and the directors may be facing criminal charges. They have been labelled publicly and officially as liars and possible frauds. I certainly don’t think these actions are dickish, but they are strong direct action.
Open communication and education of parents and the community must be the first line when dealing with anti-vaccination fears, but it isn’t the only thing that can be done.
I agree completely that people who believe vaccines are harmful, especially if they’ve had a personal experience with a reaction, should be treated with patience and kindness. As you say, seeing one’s child going through a bad reaction can be traumatizing, especially if it coincides with the onset of something unrelated like autism. More flies with honey and all that…
But I’m always a little on the fence about taking the time to educate people about possible side-effects before a vaccine. Yes, people deserve to know and be able to make informed decisions, and yes, I would always rather know than not. But I’ll give you an example of this backfiring:
Last winter, my husband and I were getting our piggy flu shot and one girl in the waiting room clearly seemed distressed. When the nurse came out to get her, she kept talking about the possible side effects, how bad might they be? What were the chances she would experience them? etc. The nurse was completely honest, telling her that she might feel a bit faint and it was possible that side effects might be a bit worse, so that’s why they want her to stay in the waiting room for 15 minutes after the shot – just in case. The girl was pale and clearly terrified.
When she came back out, she was shaking. She sat down and I think I know exactly what she was doing – she was likely paying very close attention to her body, on the look-out for any sign of side-effect. I know I’ve certainly done that more than once! I have no idea whether she actually started to feel faint or if she imagined it, but she started having a panic attack. The symptoms of her panic attack (racing pulse, difficulty breathing, etc.) were then being interpreted as further symptoms of the shot, making her attack even worse. She couldn’t calm herself down and finally fainted.
Paramedics came rushing. We have no idea if she had a small reaction to the shot or not, but she was clearly having a panic attack. She revived pretty quickly and they managed to calm her down. We gave her some juice and were able to get her mother’s phone number from her so she could be picked up.
A lot of people are like this – I know I can be like this from time to time too. When we’re scared, especially of medical-related things, we become hypersensitive to any sensations at all. A symptom that might otherwise be casually dismissed will turn into a HUGE DEAL. There parameds were clear with the girl that it looked like she was just having a panic attack, but she may well go home thinking that it was the vaccine. She may tell people about how she got a flu vaccine and she fainted. She may decide to never get a vaccine again. Heck, someone like her may be tauted on Fox News as evidence that vaccines are oh-so-dangerous.
especially if it coincides with the onset of something unrelated like autism.
No such animal. Autism affects children from very early on and can be seen in infants by those trained to detect the symptoms. I understand that parents aren’t usually among those, but keeping reality clear is important.
Bummer! My daughter had a lot of abdominal pain after the oral rotavirus vaccine. Although we knew it was a known side effect and unlikely to be serious, it was really hard not to be worried and upset in the middle of the night.
It is unfortunate that most people online exagerate vaccine reactions, even to the point of blatant dishonesty as they try to then push homeopathy or some other “alternative” they feel can replace vaccination. Comparing the risks can be a tricky business to the layperson. Thinking they are avoiding risks by purposely avoiding vaccination (and killing herd immunity), they completely ignore that the risks from the diseases are very very real. Vaccines may cause a reaction in one in a million, but that same kind of reaction will be caused by the flu in one in one hundred thousand instead (something like GBS). How do you avoid the flu for sure? Is it better to be sick for a week, or taken out for 3 days? How can you tell how you will react to the vaccine? If you react badly to the vaccine, then would the disease have been 10 times worse for you? Is it better to suffer in agony for days, or be killed by pneumonia after catching the flu?
When dealing with parents it is hard to address the mountain of hogwash out there about vaccines ruining the immune system or being worse than the diseases. I don’t know anyone who is rude to parents when trying to dispel the myths, but it is also hard to address their concerns and not be accused of being the bad guy (in cahoots with big pharma or whatever). It’s pretty much impossible in my experience, so I’ve stopped trying and just avoid the chicken pox and measles parties around here as much as possible. I say just watch out for yourself and your own kids, and still keep in mind that prevention actually is the best medicine in the end.
I feel quite hopeful that the chicken pox vaccine will prevent shingles in my kids later on, and that the pneumonia vaccine will help should the flu strains this year not match the ones addressed in the flu shot.
I have been lucky to not get laid out for a few days after any shot, and will continue to count my blessings.
I actually went to the doctor after my vaccination. because the pain was so bad and I really felt I had flu like symptoms. My doctor was really nice, and pointed out that she wished SHE had given me the shot and not a walk in clinic as I would have been just able to call her. Still, she pointed out that I would be much better not getting pnuemonia and it lasts a long time (it’s not a yearly shot).
Still, anytime you put medication of any sort in your body, it’s going to have some possible side effects. My own doctor is very worried about the number of CAT scans going on. I actually had three this year, simply from doctors wanting to cover their butts. (I had three ER visits, just not a lucky year… but in each case a cat scan was ordered… despite my objecting to two of them). “Just because we have the technology and medicine is no reason to use it.” my personal doctor said.
I think of my friend in med school. His professor was saying “You know, what I’m going to teach you is so simple, I could train a monkey to do it. Problem is, I can only train a human to know when NOT to do it.”
It is a bit like childbirth stories – there are plenty of people willing to tell you about horror experiences of 2 minute labours or 24 hour ones. Truth is that most women have 6-8 hour (boring)ones
I rely on herd immunity. I cannot get the flu vaccine as I am severly allergic to one of the ingredients, so I rely on the population getting it’s flu shot to protect me. Problem is that most people don’t get the shot, and they always seem to leave their home when they’re sick to spread it, so every time I leave home, I’m taking the chance of getting it, and with my immune system, I probably will. I know some people who have comprimised immune systems or cannot get the recommended baby/adult shots and they too rely on herd immunity. Now they are facing the horrible facts that they most likely will end up with some horrible disease that could have been prevented if only a parent wouldn’t have totally freaked out and refused to have their child immunized! Sad fact is that the freak out over autism was totally dumb. Autism starts in infancy and doesn’t get noticed most the time until a child is older. Yes I know people are saying my child was fine until they received their MMR then they stopped talking. Well let me explain something. My child was 3 also when his Autism became noticeable and he stopped speaking, but he never received the MMR because of another medical issue. He got the MMR later. And when we went back and watched his baby videos, guess what we saw, signs of Autism that we hadn’t noticed because we didn’t understand what to look for. Now 10 years later, I have three wonderful children who all have autism, but then again, so does their daddy and their mommy!
The scary thing about your story is that, despite how bad your reaction is- pneumoccocal is so much worse.
As a paeds nurse I have seen this disease literally wipe out the majority of an infant’s brain function. This infant was ‘saved’ and is now a toddler with an absolutely loving family who works hard to care for all of the childs needs. However this toddler is bed/wheelchair bound, fully dependent (will never have any independence at all), on multiple medications to help control body systems that the brain can now no longer control on it’s own, and no matter how much love and care the family give this child- eventually the child will contract an infection (likely respiratory) which we just can’t ‘save’ him from.
Vaccination does carry risks. This is a fact. It’s dishonest and irresponsible for vaccine advocates (such as I am) to dismiss this. That’s why I appreciate what you say, Jenna Marie, about this and I agree we need to be aware of it and compassionate to those frightened about it.
I happen to know a child who received a bad batch of vaccination. I was around the family when it happened and personally witnessed the effects, which were horrible. It caused extensive nerve damage in his leg, just when he was learning to walk, and required well over a year of physical therapy.
Does this mean you can draw the conclusion all vaccines are bad? Of course not. This was a singular mistake, not even included in the usual, known quantity of side effects. But, overall, the risks of getting vaccines still are better than the risks of not getting them. We should be sensitive to the reality of other people’s experiences and fears, and take that into account when we reach out to educate.
Thank you all for the great feedback!
Such an important point. I am a bit anal about talking about vaccine risks with my patients. Even though I hand them a CDC info sheet that enumerates the risks, I also specifically discus the fact that there are risks, what they might entail, and how the family could/should deal with an adverse reaction. I balance this with a discussion of benefits. Too many doctors take the shortcut of not discussing risk, and some don’t even hand out the info fact sheets so patients/parents can read up on the risks themselves. A bit of time up front will prepare the family/patient in case there is an adverse reaction and will help maintain trust in the doctor/patient relationship. There are risks; risks are rare; benefits outweigh risks overall. If you experience a bad side effect you may not care about the overall risk/benefit measure, but if you are an informed vaccine recipient, it goes a long way towards maintaining a rational attitude towards vaccines. Many doctors need to do a better job at informing patients.
I’m sorry you had a hard time with your pneumonia shot, but your anecdote is full of the same problems associated with Alt Med anecdotes. Pain is a very subjective measure of misery. One person’s pain is another person’s minor annoyance. You said you have an underlying pain issue, but didn’t clarify. This opens up many possibilities that may or may not be related to your pneumonia shot and your subsequent reaction to it. It is impossible to know, from the information given, what really happened to you–just as is is impossible to tell what really happened to people who claim to have cured cancer with (fill in the blank) alternative “treatment”.
I’ve had reactions to flu and other shots, but I wouldn’t try to describe these as a testament to anything (positive or negative) because my reaction is just mine and has little meaning beyond that. I appreciate that you used your personal story to illustrate a positive attitude to vaccine reactions, but I will also continue to tell people point blank, at a certain point, such as after repeated attempts to present real science, that they are stupid– in matters of science anyway.
knotfreak – continue to say what you wish to people, but on this forum we expect respect to and from our contributors AND commenters.
@knotfreak
Did you even read all of Jenna’s article? She told her reactions to a vaccine – something that is not common, but not extraordinary, and related how important it was to discuss these rare but usually not life-threatening reactions. Discuss so that patients will understand the science behind taking the shots, and not attribute those risks to poison, contamination, Evil Pharma Companies That Wish to Keep Us Sick, etc. Not only do you seem to miss her point and ascribe to her things she did not say, you called her stupid.
I suspect you don’t reach a lot of people with that attitude. Uninformed is not the same thing as ignorant.
@knotfreak. You mention that pain is a subjective measure of misery. I am really curious how you come to that conclusion. Your statement seems to assume that the writer’s pain was simply all in her head and not a real complication of the immunization with real biological reactions to her body’s reaction to the contents of that shot.
True people manage pain differently, but pain is still our body’s way of telling us that something isn’t right, the stronger the severity the worse the problem. Anyone who lives with chronic pain, would easily know that something is way off when all of a sudden the levels of pain go way up. It is actually a fairly accurate method of knowing there is a problem.
There is a big difference between a sore spot on your arm, like I get every month with my allergy shots, and complete total body pain because your body is reacting badly to something. To dismiss her reaction to her shots so appears to be quite callous, especially as Jenna did a really good job at discussing the whys this happened.
Knotfreak,
Jenna’s article was very well thought out and she reached proper conclusions even though she suffered. Her reasoning is sound and her descriptions are not unlike things that others have experienced. There’s no reason to cast doubt on what she says when we have actual studies that show that sometimes, these reactions can happen.
Questioning people when they used sound logic and reached the right conclusion is more likely to drive people away from the truth than be conducive to helping them understand the truth. Furthermore, calling people stupid for not understanding something is no way to get them to be attentive to things you have to say.
@Knotfreak
Thank you for visiting SheThought and reading my essay. I do agree that pain is subjective, but that doesn’t mean that it is irrelevant; it just makes quantification variable. I have fibromyalgia syndrome, as I linked to within the article. I’ve lived with chronic pain for about a decade now, and the pain I felt after receiving pneumovax was atypical for me, as I stated in the essay. The pain in my arm was severe, coupled with body pain so intense that it prevented movement, swelling and a fever. It is possible that FMS made my reaction more likely, but again, it doesn’t mean the reaction did not happen.
I’m not sure how relaying my incident, which I stated was rare, yet possible, can be equated to anything alt-med related. I don’t blame the vaccine manufacturer, the clinic that gave me the shot, the CDC, the NIH, god or my cat. I was informed, aware, and consented to the risk by signing an agreement with my university health center in order to receive the inoculation.
I think that respect for people and their experiences is something all good medical professionals have. I remember a friend joking that natural childbirth couldn’t be too bad (I had natural childbirth twice and I found it not too bad, but not the walk in the park she seemed to think). Then she had her baby and didn’t make it the entire way despite her claim that others had been exagerrating. Point is, maybe your pain IS less. Maybe one day you’ll have your arm blow up, the injection site look like an angry volcano, and an arm that you can’t life. Also high fever, achy muscles, and vomiting. Now did any of that (which I had after a vaccination) keep me from getting another? Nope I’m lined up for my flu shot every year. It’s also important to be honest about reactions and side effects (and to explain the difference between a side effect and having an allergic reaction… which was news to me but there is a difference). One reason to be honest it that when I do have a horrible reaction my personal physician is able to help me. Little shot of benadryl, decision to be made if this is bad enough for me to be watched overnight in the hospital, little pain killer for the site pain….
Now if my doctor and I did not have an excellent relationship, I would probably go “wow, my body is reacting to this like is it poison! This is horrible, it can’t be right!”
Still, never belittle pain. Until we have truly experienced how horrible it can be, make light of it now. One day, your OUCH from hell will come!!
@knotfreak you don’t appear to have read the post. It didn’t include an anecdote that was over-generalised to come up with a rule for all, which is what alt-medders do. It used an anecdote that was the trigger for better personal understanding about a specific issue.
You also seem to have ignored my first comment, talking about the difference between potentially frightened parents and the propagandists of the anti-vaccine movement and some of the active and effective steps that can be taken to reduce their ability to operate.
You are, of course, free to continue calling people stupid. But in that case I hope you have no impact on patient care. I also hope there are others doing something more effective to stop the propaganda, because I can’t see how that is effective. I also hope you see this as an opportunity to reflect on what your goals are and how well you might be achieving them.
Thank you for writing this honest view of vaccinations and your personal experience.
I liken your experience to people that have a bad reaction to anesthesia, or other medications…or people that get pregnant despite birth control…or don’t heal well after surgery,…pick one.
The comment about the panic attack that one of your readers mentioned is also an example of how “informing” is tricky, but I feel that it is necessary. When I inform patients [I'm a pharmacist] of a side effect, I try to arm them with information on what they can do about these side effects–what action to take–this calms some people down.
I also loved CJ’s very honest comment, a comment from a parent dealing with a difficult situation in her child. Many people lash out and blame what ever they can when something happens to their child. I commend her, and wish her well. I hope that time can be spent now [in research community] on what really causes autism and what helps these children best.