Are vaccines a conspiracy?

This year, anti-vaxxers claimed that vaccines are all dangerous, unnecessary, and a criminal conspiracy to make money.

Claims that COVID vaccination campaigns were only about making money are not true. Governments, healthcare organizations, and drug companies worked together to create vaccines quickly during the pandemic. The U.S. government even helped pay for vaccine development to make them available to everyone. Vaccines didn’t just save lives—they also saved money. The U.S. campaign saved an estimated $1.15 trillion by preventing over 3.2 million deaths and millions of hospital stays. The CDC and FDA also closely monitor vaccine safety through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and other systems. If side effects are found, they are fully investigated, and action is taken if needed.

COVID vaccines went through large clinical trials to prove they were safe and effective. Although early studies didn’t show if vaccines stopped transmission, later research showed that vaccinated people were contagious for a shorter time and infected fewer others. Vaccines reduce severe illness, hospital stays, and deaths. They are essential tools against COVID disease.

Some say diseases like measles and polio are no longer a threat, but that’s only because of vaccines. When vaccination rates drop, diseases return. For example, measles outbreaks have happened in areas with low vaccination rates. Claims that getting sick naturally is better for the immune system are also wrong. Diseases like measles can actually weaken the immune system by causing “immune amnesia,” making it harder to fight future infections. Vaccines teach the immune system how to fight germs without making people sick, providing safer, long-lasting protection.

Some anti-vaccine messages use a strategy called the “Gish Gallop,” where they flood people with so many claims that it’s hard to check them all. They might say vaccine side effects are hidden or that drug companies aren’t responsible if vaccines cause harm. This isn’t true—vaccine safety rules are very strict, and companies can be sued if they don’t follow them. Childhood vaccines protect kids from dangerous diseases like polio and measles.