VACCINE RESOURCE COMMITTEE

of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association

View Full List of Vaccine Questions Here

General Vaccine Question #9:

Does the vaccine cause the disease?

Depending on the type of vaccine, some vaccines potentially can cause very mild disease or minor symptoms of the disease that are significantly less than the dangers of getting the disease itself.

Most vaccines are inactivated. Inactivated vaccines contain only pieces of bacteria or “killed” viruses. These vaccines stimulate the immune system of the person who is given the vaccine but cannot cause the disease.

Live vaccines, on the other hand, contain a small amount of attenuated (weakened) bacteria or viruses. During production, they are changed so that they are incapable of transmitting disease. Like inactivated vaccines, live vaccines stimulate the immune system of the person who is given the vaccine. This means that a live vaccine is very unlikely to cause disease. For more information on different vaccine types, please refer to Question 5.

However, in a very small number of people, this type of vaccine may cause a mild form of the disease it protects against. For example, a child who is given the chickenpox vaccine might develop a few spots that look like chickenpox. They are very rarely contagious and clear up quickly.

Live vaccines should not be given to people who have a weakened immune system because of the risk of the vaccine causing a severe form of the disease in these individuals.

Any vaccine can cause side effects. A list of common side effects from vaccines is here.

Sources

Government of Quebec-Demystifying beliefs regarding the risks of vaccination
CDC-Possible Side Effects from Vaccines