What is the most important medical

development in modern history?

Could it be open heart surgery?

Organ transplants? Cancer treatments?

According to the World Health

Organization, it's none of the above.

It's actually vaccines.

Vaccines and clean water

in developing countries

are the most significant medical

interventions in recent times.

What is so fascinating about vaccines?

Nothing, really, they are just shots.

Those shots, however, have

saved hundreds of millions of lives

and continue to save

three million lives each year.

Let's take a brief journey

through the history of vaccines.

500 years ago, smallpox and measles

are introduced to Latin America

by the Spanish conquerors,

which kill more indigenous people

than the armed conquistadores themselves.

It seems that the Maya

and Inca civilizations

perished because of these two diseases.

In Greece, just 100 - 150 years ago,

the child mortality rate is around 50%.

Half of all children die

before they reach adulthood.

Back then, the saying was:

"We have many children

because God is due His share."

In the 20th century alone,

smallpox killed
300 - 500 million people worldwide.

Measles claimed 150 million lives

during the same time.

These two diseases together

killed five to seven times

more people than both World Wars

combined during the same century.

We do not include whooping cough,

diphtheria, polio, hepatitis or the flu

because we lack accurate records.

In 1980, the World Health

Organization announced

that the world is free from smallpox.

Thanks to vaccinations, the smallpox virus

was completely eradicated

from the natural environment.

Polio has had a similar progression.

Last year, we only had 37 cases

of paralytic polio around the globe.

A disease that has killed millions

and caused permanent

paralysis to millions of others,

is fast on its way to being eradicated.

This year might be the last time

that we encounter polio victims.

We will preserve these two viruses

in a testing tube,
in the depths of a laboratory,

as a record of two of the most lethal

microorganisms to have swept the planet,

killing more people

than all wars combined.

Same case with measles.

In 1980, measles killed

2.6 million children and adults worldwide.

Last year, for the first time,

there were less than 100,000 fatalities.
Then the anti-vaccination
suddenly fad appeared.

While we see people

in developing countries

queueing for life-saving vaccines,

in the West, people

are moving away from vaccines.

Last year, we had a 400% increase

in cases of measles in Europe,

with more than 40 people dead.

In the U.S., in 2012, there were more

than 50,000 cases of whooping cough

with more than 20 people

dying from the disease.

A recent survey showed

that 24 % of Greeks
are hesitant about vaccines,

believing they cause autism.

Other countries in the West

have similarly high numbers

of people doubting vaccination.

People in developing countries

have little to no doubt toward vaccines

because they've actually

seen people die from diseases

that we, in the West, have forgotten.

These diseases are forgotten

thanks to vaccines.

Let's see how the anti-vaccination

movement started.

In 1998, Andrew Wakefield,

a British surgeon,

published a study citing only 12 cases -

I repeat only 12 cases -

claiming that M-M-R,

the combined vaccine

for Measles, Mumps and Rubella,
causes autism.

Wakefield further claimed

that this doesn't happen

if those vaccines are done separately.

This resulted in a huge

anti-vaccine movement

in countries of the West,

promoted by large media groups

and Hollywood stars.

Independent investigation later

proved that Wakefield

had been illegally funded by lawyers

that specialised in lawsuits

against pharmaceutical companies,

had tampered with the findings

of his independent collaborators,

and not only that,

and had also patented

a single Measles vaccine

for future financial profit.

At the same time, dozens of

independent studies were carried out

on thousands of participants

disproved any association

between the triple vaccine for measles,

mumps and rubella, or M-M-R, and autism.

Andrew Wakefield was fired from

the hospital in which he practised

and was stripped of his medical license,

he could no longer practice medicine.

But the damage had been done.

Vaccines had acquired a bad reputation.

Let us now answer a few simple questions

to shed light on the most

common myths regarding vaccination.
Is natural illness better?

Is it better for a child

to contract a disease?

Absolutely not.

Even mild illnesses

can considerably lead

to serious complications

like meningitis, encephalitis, pneumonia,

that may lead to death in children

or even adults.

Furthermore,

a recent study proved that

a patient that contracts measles

is subjected to immunological shock,

that erases the immune system's

memory for previously contracted viruses.

For the next several years, these patients

were found to be at risk of dying

from another serious infection.

Second myth: Vaccines burden

the body with useless antigens

and pressure the immune system.

To be clear,

an antigen is part of the microbe

that can cause an immune response.

That is also completely wrong:

vaccines contain very few antigens,

the minimum necessary

to cause an immune response.

In contrast, when someone

contracts the virus in nature,

they are exposed to tens

or hundreds of antigens,

sometimes triggering
an autoimmune reaction.

Third myth: Vaccines cause autism

and other long-term complications.

The answer to the first point was evident

from the earliest studies,

but, further than that, 40 to 50 years

of mass vaccination programs worldwide,

thousands of independent studies

and millions of vaccinated individuals

no long-term consequence
caused by vaccines has been proven.

Fourth myth: Vaccines have

immediate and serious side-effects.

Vaccines actually have mild side-effects.

Serious side effects

from vaccines are very rare

and can be effectively treated

by trained medical staff.

It's safer to get a vaccine

than to walk on the street,

or smell a flower on a field.

On a personal note,

I calculated that in 20 years

of being a practising pediatrician,

I've administered more

than 80,000 vaccine shots.

80,000 vaccine shots.

During that time, not once did I

encounter serious side-effect. Not one.

Fifth myth: Can we vaccinate

children at an older age?

We can, but it would be a huge mistake.

If we do that, babies and toddlers,

who contract diseases more easily

and develop serious

complications more frequently,

would be exposed to unnecessary danger.

Sixth myth: I didn't vaccinate
my child and he's fine.

When the majority

of a population is vaccinated

they form a contagion barrier,

that also protects

unvaccinated individuals.

When vaccination percentage falls,

however, epidemics return,

because diseases
have the ability to spread,

naturally starting
with unvaccinated individuals.

In Greece, this typically occurs

within Roma communities

that do not vaccinate,

with patients dying very often

of whooping cough or measles.

Seventh myth: Vaccines contain harmful

substances, like mercury or aluminium.

20 years ago, a mercury compound

was used as a preservative agent

in some vaccines.

The so-called thimerosal,

you might have heard about it.

This was removed from vaccines

after the relevant recommendation

by the American Academy of Pediatrics,

even though it had never

been proven to be harmful.

A little-known fact is that

when you include seafood in your diet,

you consume 100 times

the amount of thimerosal

than getting vaccinated.

Same goes for aluminium:

a baby that exclusively breastfeeds,

in the first six months alone,
will have consumed
ten times more aluminium

than all vaccinations combined.

If the baby that does not breastfeed

and receives formula milk instead,

will have consumed 40 times

as much aluminium in the same period.

Eighth myth: Anti-vaccine websites

present serious scientific facts.

Allow me to read you something.

"There is a substance that

has flooded the human body.

It contains formaldehyde,
ketones, ethanol, tryptophan, urea,

dihydrogen monoxide,
large quantities of iron oxide,

20 further acids
and 4,000 chemical substances.

This substance can cause

anaemia and leukemia;

it also the route for cancer to spread.

Pharmaceutical companies and governments

spend billions of dollars

to process and preserve it".

Did all this scare you?

I scared you by telling you the truth,

with no scientific inaccuracy.

But the substance I just described to you,

the one that scared you, is human blood.

That's exactly what happens

with anti-vaxer websites.

Confusing, pseudo-scientific terminology,

laced with a lot of scaremongering

that a regular reader

cannot possibly discern

and is drawn to the wrong conclusion.

Ninth: Pharmaceutical companies
have an agenda for population decrease,

which they implement through vaccination.

When vaccination programs

started 50 years ago worldwide,

the world population was at three billion.

Today it is seven billion

and is dramatically increasing,

despite a rise in deaths

from environmental pollution

and heart disease

caused by modern lifestyle.

We really don't need to say

anything more on this matter.

Tenth myth: Pharmaceutical companies

greatly profit from vaccines.

This is one of the most popular

anti-vaxer arguments.

Vaccines, in reality, constitute

less than 3% of earnings

for pharmaceutical companies.

Less than 3%.

Vaccines require high technology

and are difficult to distribute.

On the other hand,

just one day of hospitalization,

in a regular or an Intensive Care Unit,

can cost thousands of euros.

The same amount could be spent

on hundreds of vaccines.

Every single study has shown

that vaccines are cost-effective

and do not burden public spending,

they actually alleviate it.

And that's the reason

countries around the globe,
prosperous and poor alike,

offer vaccines to their citizens for free.

Eleventh myth: Anti-vaxers

are pure ideologists

that are concerned with our well-being.

Internationally and locally,

anti-vaxers promote
'healthy' and 'alternative' treatments.

This alternative market is huge,

with a turnover close

to those of pharmaceuticals.

Many anti-vaxers abroad

have become billionaires.

Also in Greece, thousands make a living

by selling fake
and dangerous 'treatments'.

It was revealed that

Andrew Wakefield himself

has received 500,00 pounds

worth of illegal funding

from lawyers that specialize in suing

pharmaceutical companies.

Twelfth myth: Diseases were eradicated

thanks to better living conditions,

vaccines had nothing to do with that.

Again, this is completely wrong.

We have many statistics.

All statistical data show

a dramatic drop in diseases

after their equivalent vaccine

was made available to the population.

Characteristically, vast India

which managed to wipe out polio just

a few years after introducing its vaccine,

despite no changes in public hygiene.

If anything, hygiene was worse

because of overwhelming mass urbanization.

Same result in the U.S.

with the haemophilus vaccine in 1993,

but also worldwide.

Before the vaccine,

there were 20,000 cases per year.

After the vaccine,

less than 1,000 in just a few years.

Exactly the same happened with

pneumococcal and meningococcal diseases,

worldwide but also in Greece.

A large decline in disease cases.

Canada has excellent

public health records,

that reveal the number of disease cases

before and after vaccines.

All diseases saw

a decrease of 93% to 100%,

that is near eradication.

Of course, that works both ways:

in the 1970s and 2010s, there was

a noticeable drop in vaccination rates

for whooping cough in western countries.

Sure enough, there was

an equivalent rise in cases and deaths.

Another tragic, example

is the latest measles outbreak in Europe.

What happened and measles came back?

Could it be worse hygiene?

Of course not. Vaccination rates dropped.

Thirteenth myth: I hear your point

but I don't want to vaccinate my child.

Since you are all vaccinated,

why do you care?

On one hand, a parent

that does not vaccinate their child
exposes them to serious and mortal danger.

That is illegal.

On the other hand, an unvaccinated child

can transmit a disease

to someone who could

not get the vaccine

because they are not old enough

or for medical reasons.

Immunosuppressed children and adults

due to leukemia or an autoimmune disease

are the first to contract a disease

by people with incomplete

or no vaccination at all.

In Romania, out of the 40 people that died

due to the latest measles outbreak,

30 were babies younger than one-year-old,

the age of measles vaccination.

In Italy, a child that had beaten leukemia

thanks to chemotherapy,

later contracted measles

from their unvaccinated sibling and died.

Pregnant women and their newborns

are under the same category,

both groups very susceptible

to serious or untreatable damage

from these diseases.

When we do not vaccinate,

we do not only threaten our own child.

We threaten all
vulnerable population groups.

Not vaccinating

is anti-social behaviour.

It's like running a red light

or driving in the opposite

lane of the highway.

Consequently, vaccines
are the safest, most important

and most cost-effective

public health practice.

Vaccines are among the greatest

discoveries of humankind.

In conclusion.

We are all shocked by the horrific

images of death from the Syrian civil war.

Do you know how many victims

the Syrian civil war has had

during those seven years?

450,00 people have died.

Due to vaccine unavailability

in developing countries,

hepatitis B alone

kills 750,00 people every year,

300,00 of which die from liver cancer,

a consequence of hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B alone kills

almost twice the people

as the seven-year war in Syria.

For many years, I practiced at a neonatal

and children's Intensive Care Unit.

I saw children like yours and mine

die in a matter of hours

from pneumococcus, meningococcus, measles.

I saw babies born

deaf or mentally disabled

because their mother contracted

rubella during her pregnancy.

During this 15-minute speech,

80 children around the world

were saved thanks to vaccinations.

I saw children like yours and mine

die in a matter of hours

from pneumococcus, meningococcus, measles.

Never again, thanks to vaccines.

Thank you.

(Applause)