“When speaking about vaccines, a correct information is important for prevention”. This is what Professor Alberto Mantovani, immunologist, scientific director of Humanitas and teacher at Humanitas University, said at Radio24’s “Cuore e denari” (“Heart and money”, NdT).
“Vaccines split the audience for different reasons. The first reason why we don’t get the number of vaccines that are important, is that they are the victims of their own success. Nowadays, we don’t know what polio is, because we get vaccines against it. Maybe we have to read “Nemesis” by Philip Roth or something similar, to remember what this disease is. However, diseases, such as polio or diphtheria, are not vanquished once and for all and may come back if we don’t get vaccinated.
The second reason is lies. For instance, the glaring lie that there is a link between autism and vaccinations and in particular, those against the measles. The author of this lie is Wakefield and for this very reason, he has been banned from practicing medicine in England”, Prof. Mantovani points out.
Herd immunity
“We are also not aware of the solidarity value of vaccination. For example, by recently vaccinating my grandson against chicken pox, I symbolically put the seat belt not only on him, but also on those children and adults that can’t do so, because they think that vaccines are ineffective or dangerous for them. The protection of children and adults that can’t get vaccinated depends on herd immunity. If many of us are vaccinated, we block the circulation of the virus. Vaccination has an intrinsic dimension of solidarity that we should not forget”.
Vaccine is the best exercise
“Finally, a common idea is that a natural disease is good for our health and that a measles infection is good to grow because it strengthens our immune system. Far from it. These pathogens know the immune system and cause a deep, long-lasting immuno-suppression that can last for up to two years. My slogan is: vaccine is the best exercise”, Mantovani highlights.
The advantages outweigh the risks
“First of all, we have to be extremely transparent. Any medical intervention is based upon the evaluation of benefits and risks. Let us take into consideration the vaccination against the measles, one of the most debated ones. At least 20% of those who suffer from the measles have serious problems and almost one in one thousand patients will suffer from severe encephalitis (that is often sclerosis and so, irreversible). There are indeed vaccine-related problems but they consist in an encephalitis, in less than one in one million people and it is always a benign one”, Prof. Mantovani says.
