To Vaccinate or Not?

Vaccination reduces the burden of infectious diseases and is proclaimed to be the single most effective strategy protecting humans from their wrath, and therefore the mutli-billion dollar global campaigns to protect from and eradicate the current pandemic of Covid 19. Vaccines are arguably a public health success story as well as an incredibly expensive albeit cost-effective medical resource. Though vaccinations are credited with the decline in occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases, medical historians and statistics reveal that this was precipitated due to the concurrent vast improvement in hygiene and social practices. Poignant questions about the safety and efficacy of vaccinations have been raised regardless of the opinion that vaccinations have decreased morbidity and mortality related to contagious diseases in the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Further, eradication is an ideal goal for an immunization programme, however, till date only smallpox has been eradicated. The intention of this review is neither aimed at being pro or against vaccination, merely presenting peer-reviewed scientific studies and data so as to aid informed decision making.

Autorentext

Gyandas G. Wadhwani, Yumna Ebrahim, Shamini Kara, Loretta Ferrucci, Chantelle Nienhuis et Vicki Compere : Les six co-auteurs sont tous membres du groupe Aude Sapere d'Afrique du Sud. Elles mènent également des pratiques cliniques fructueuses en tant que médecins consultants dans leurs cliniques respectives.