I'm a pediatrician and a vaccine proponent. I agree with you that we should think about vaccines as drugs in the sense that we should use the right vaccine in the right person at the right time, and acknowledge that every drug, including vaccines, has benefits and risks. When they are treated as a political statement we don't give them t…
I'm a pediatrician and a vaccine proponent. I agree with you that we should think about vaccines as drugs in the sense that we should use the right vaccine in the right person at the right time, and acknowledge that every drug, including vaccines, has benefits and risks. When they are treated as a political statement we don't give them the respect they deserve. There is one aspect of vaccines that is different from other drugs however. They are permanent in a way (some more than others). That's why we have vaccine records but not "drug records". No one cares if you took most medications one time 10 years ago (maybe certain chemotherapy agents would be exceptions), but for vaccines that's meaningful That lasting effect has ethical implications. It's one of many reasons that we should have a higher standard for evidence for their use, especially for univeral recommendations.
I'm a pediatrician and a vaccine proponent. I agree with you that we should think about vaccines as drugs in the sense that we should use the right vaccine in the right person at the right time, and acknowledge that every drug, including vaccines, has benefits and risks. When they are treated as a political statement we don't give them the respect they deserve. There is one aspect of vaccines that is different from other drugs however. They are permanent in a way (some more than others). That's why we have vaccine records but not "drug records". No one cares if you took most medications one time 10 years ago (maybe certain chemotherapy agents would be exceptions), but for vaccines that's meaningful That lasting effect has ethical implications. It's one of many reasons that we should have a higher standard for evidence for their use, especially for univeral recommendations.