Are vaccine side effects properly disclosed?

In a new video, former presidential candidate RFK Jr. claims that all vaccines have side effects, including conditions like Guillain-Barré syndrome, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and encephalitis. He argues that health authorities often downplay or ignore these side effects and that the risks associated with vaccines are not adequately disclosed to the public.

Vaccines are designed to protect us from diseases by training our immune system to recognize and fight off infections without causing the disease itself. When you get a vaccine, it teaches your body to recognize a virus or bacteria so that if exposed to it later, your immune system can respond quickly and prevent you from getting very sick. This process is very effective in preventing serious effects from measles, polio, and the flu.

Even after a vaccine is approved and widely used, it is continuously monitored for safety. Health agencies like the CDC and the FDA have vaccine safety systems in place, like the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), to track any reported side effects. If a potential problem is detected, these agencies investigate it thoroughly. It’s important to remember that reports to VAERS do not necessarily prove a side effect. It may simply be an adverse event, something that happens after a vaccine but may not be caused by a vaccine. These agencies take those reported events and investigate further to determine if there is any potential causation.

It is true that vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects, but most are very mild, like a sore arm or a low-grade fever. Serious side effects are extremely rare. For example, severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) occur in about 1 in a million doses of vaccines.

Kennedy’s focus on rare side effects makes vaccines seem more dangerous than they really are. He does not emphasize how effective vaccines are in preventing serious diseases, which have far more severe consequences than the rare side effects he describes.

Additionally, he suggests that vaccine risks are not being disclosed, but in reality, the possible side effects are well-documented and shared with the public through vaccine information sheets that doctors give out before vaccination. He even read from the insert that he admits is available in all vaccine packages.

The benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks. Vaccines have saved millions of lives and prevented countless cases of serious illness. Thanks to vaccines, diseases that used to be common and deadly, like smallpox and polio, have been eradicated or almost eradicated.