Photo courtesy of Weil Lifestyle
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Dr. Debunker
A Shot in the Dark?
By Andrew Weil, M.D., September & October 2007
Q: Some say that vaccines—or the chemicals used to preserve them—can be risky. Should they be avoided?
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A: My opinion is simple: the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. And, yes, there are risks, mostly of immediate adverse reactions. But these are much lower than the risks of the diseases that vaccines prevent. If we still lived with diphtheria, polio, and tetanus, no one would question the wisdom of preventing these diseases.
 
Immunization facilitates a natural process by stimulating encounters between the body’s immune system and killed or weakened viruses and bacteria (or pieces and products of them). In early life, such encounters can enable the immune system to defend us against these pathogens. I understand some people’s resistance to the idea of injecting toxins and germs into children (or themselves), but I think they have not considered immunization’s very favorable ratio of benefits to risks. The risk varies from vaccine to vaccine but is always a minuscule fraction of one percent. And I take very strong exception to those who believe that febrile illnesses of childhood are necessary for optimal lifelong health. That is nonsense.
That doesn’t mean I’m in favor of every vaccine, though. I’m not sure universal vaccination against hepatitis B is a good idea. The people at risk are in well-known subgroups, so the shots (and the small risk) could be limited to them. Nor am I sure we should vaccinate all children against chickenpox. For most people, getting chickenpox confers lifelong immunity, but the vaccine does not. And catching the disease as an adult is more dangerous than getting it over with in childhood.
I am glad that mercury preservative has been nearly phased out of vaccines, though I have not seen credible evidence that it causes autism, as some claim. I hope that genetic engineering will bring us better (and even safer) vaccines.
Finally, for the record, I keep current on my own immunizations—I had the pneumonia vaccine along with my flu shot—and my 15-year-old daughter has had all of hers.
Following the publication of this column, we received so many letters from readers asking specifically about the shingles vaccine that we published the below Q & A in the January & February 2008 issue.
Q: Do you recommend that people 60 and over get the shingles vaccine, Zostavax?
A: Yes. Having had shingles last year—a most unpleasant experience— I can only say I wish I had had the vaccine. Incidence of shingles is high in people over 60, and the vaccine is safe and effective.
A pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, Andrew Weil, M.D., is a bestselling author and the editorial director of www.drweil.com.
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