Certain cancers have become more frequent among younger adults, particularly among women. The exact causes behind this trend aren’t fully understood yet, experts agree that changes in lifestyle and environmental exposures over the past decades are the most probable cause.
About 3 in 10 children who get measles develop complications that can lead to permanent disability or death. Getting vaccinated protects people from measles and associated complications. As with any medical intervention, vaccines can cause side effects. The most common side effects from the MMR vaccine are fever, a rash, and soreness at the injection side. These side effects are expected as the immune system responds to the vaccine and don’t lead to lasting health problems.
Measles is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. Most cases are relatively mild and resolve in about a week. However, about one in three people develop serious complications that can result in deafness, pneumonia, brain inflammation, and even death. Although any vaccine carries a risk of side effects, rigorous clinical trials ensure that the benefits of vaccines outweigh their known and potential risks. Global immunization efforts have eliminated diseases that, like measles, were common until a few decades ago.
Myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle. While COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are associated with rare cases of myocarditis, particularly in young males, COVID-19 itself is associated with a greater risk of myocarditis, along with other complications like blood clots. On balance, the benefits of the vaccines outweigh their risks.
Adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination aren’t the same as proven side effects. These events may occur coincidentally and require rigorous clinical and epidemiological studies to determine causality. COVID-19 vaccines authorized by regulatory agencies continue to demonstrate a favorable safety profile, with their benefits outweighing their risks.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is described as the “sudden death of a baby younger than 1 year of age that doesn’t have a known cause”. SIDS risk factors identified by scientific studies include prone sleeping (sleeping on the stomach), smoking during pregnancy, and soft sleeping surfaces. Scientific evidence doesn’t support the claim of a causal relationship between SIDS and vaccination.
Since 2021, certain COVID-19 vaccines, specifically the viral vector COVID-19 vaccines, have been linked to a rare blood clotting problem known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. But COVID-19 mRNA vaccines aren’t associated with the same risk. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at reducing the risk of severe disease and death. Getting COVID-19 is associated with a much greater risk of blood clots than getting the vaccine. On balance, the vaccines’ benefits outweigh their risks.
COVID-19 vaccines are the safest way of reducing the likelihood of getting severely ill or dying from COVID-19. However, they are associated with some risks; for example, viral vector vaccines are associated with rare cases of blood clotting, and mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly increased risk of heart inflammation in young males. But COVID-19 itself carries a much higher risk of developing blood clots and cardiovascular problems than vaccination. By lowering these risks, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the small risk of serious side effects.
Introduction In September 2024, multiple social media posts began appearing on Instagram, claiming that vaccination caused a 23-year-old woman named Alexis Lorenze to become severely ill. These posts commonly included graphic photos of Lorenze’s facial bruising and swelling. Several of these posts can be traced to accounts with large followings that previously spread health misinformation, … Continued
In April 2024, a copy of a New Jersey doctor’s office policy regarding sports physicals for student athletes circulated on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. The policy stated that “Covid vaccinations affect your risk” of “sudden cardiac death on the playing field”. At the time of writing, one Instagram post sharing the policy … Continued
