Let go of negative childhood experiences and get vaccinated to prevent worse ills

DEAR DR. ROACH »

I will never willingly get a vaccine for anything. I have been sick only once in my life, and it was from a vaccination that I received in the seventh grade. I am now 80. Many of us cannot accept the advice to “take this, because it will prevent whatever.” If I had the medical details, I might reconsider vaccination.

— Anon.

ANSWER » Making a medical decision should be based on the best, most up-to-date information. For more than 65 years, you have been choosing against one of the most important medical interventions, based on a single bad experience. Vaccine technology is much better now than it was in the 1950s.

Vaccines get your body’s immune system prepared to fight a specific infection. Infections are caused by germs, but “germs” is an imprecise term that includes microscopic invaders, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and other parasites. However, all commercially available vaccines work against bacteria or viruses. Bacteria are microscopic organisms that live virtually everywhere: Only a tiny fraction cause human disease. Viruses are structures of protein and nucleic acids that use the host cells to reproduce. Viruses take over the genetic information of a cell and force it to replicate viruses instead of performing the normal job of a cell.

Vaccines can be made to combat bacteria and viruses. A vaccine may use either weakened strains of the bacteria or virus, or purified structures of the bacteria or virus. By being primed against the invader, the body is ready to respond in the case of actual exposure to infection. Both types can provide long-lasting protection from infection. Although most vaccines are for infections that, if survived, the body has immunity to, some vaccines provide immunity to an infection that even survivors do not develop immunity to. One example is tetanus.

Many teams are trying heroically to develop a safe, effective vaccine against coronavirus. A vaccine could prevent millions of deaths. As a provider on the front line taking care of patients, I cannot express how much I look forward to a vaccine. As a person in their 80s, you should too.