Do Vaccines Increase the Risk of Autoimmune Disease?
Key takeaways:
There’s a large amount of scientific evidence proving that vaccines don’t cause autoimmune disease.
Some research has shown a link between the flu vaccine and a rare autoimmune condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome. But this is still an ongoing area of research.
Vaccines are more likely to prevent infections that can cause autoimmune disease rather than cause an autoimmune disease.
Most people would agree that anything that helps your immune system fight off infections is a good thing. But some people worry that a vaccine may also trigger your body’s immune system to turn against itself. If a viral infection can trigger an autoimmune disease, why not the vaccine that prevents that infection? A look at the research can clear up some common misunderstandings.
Do vaccines increase the risk of developing an autoimmune disease?
Researchers have done a lot of studies that look into the risk of autoimmune disease after vaccines. The Global Advisory Committee for Vaccine Safety (GACVS) from the World Health Organization (WHO) looked at all vaccine safety data worldwide from 1999 to 2019 and said that “vaccines do not increase the risk of autoimmune diseases.”
Here are some specific examples of just a few large, long-term studies that have been done on vaccines and autoimmune diseases:
HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS): In a 2015 study of more than 1.7 million people ages 9 to 26 years, there was no increased risk in getting GBS after the HPV vaccine.
Hib (haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine and Type 1 diabetes: This 2002 prospective study followed nearly 50,000 children from the time they were born until they were 10 to 12 years old. About half of the children received the Hib vaccine as an infant, and half didn’t. Receiving the Hib vaccine didn’t increase the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes later on in life.
Hepatitis B vaccine and multiple sclerosis (MS): This 2001 case-control study followed nurses for more than 30 years. The researchers compared 192 female nurses with MS with 645 female nurses without MS. The hepatitis B vaccine wasn’t associated with an increased risk of a nurse having MS.
Is there any connection between vaccines and autoimmune disease?
Even though the evidence overwhelmingly supports the safety of vaccines, there’s still some research that has highlighted a possible link between specific vaccines and autoimmune conditions.
Flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome
Every fall, healthcare providers and public health experts tell people to get their flu vaccine. It’s the best way to make sure they don’t get sick with the influenza virus. But can the flu vaccine also cause GBS? Maybe.
GBS is an autoimmune disease that can cause short-term paralysis in your toes and legs, moving up your body. This usually only lasts for a short period of time, but it still requires immediate care and can be quite scary.
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The link between the flu vaccine and GBS has been studied a lot. And the evidence can look different year to year. This could be in part because the flu vaccine formula changes every year to match the virus that’s being spread in communities. Some studies have shown a small increase in the risk of GBS after getting the influenza vaccine — 1 to 2 cases of GBS for every 1 million flu vaccines given.
But here’s a twist: The flu actually causes GBS in 17 out of 1 million people. This means you’re more likely to get GBS from getting the flu virus than from the flu vaccine. Or, to look at it in another way, the flu vaccine may actually protect you from GBS.
COVID-19 vaccine and autoimmune disease
Since the release of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, healthcare providers and public health authorities have been documenting any health problems that may be caused by the vaccine. And there are some reports that describe patients developing autoimmunity after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. But experts still don’t know for sure if the vaccine actually causes autoimmune disease. There’s likely to be more research on this in the coming years.
Even if you have an autoimmune condition, experts still recommend that you get vaccinated. Many people with an autoimmune disease are immunocompromised. This means they may be at higher risk for severe COVID-19. And like other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 may cause autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto thyroiditis. So similar to the flu, the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination outweighs the small risks that could emerge.
Why do people think vaccines cause autoimmune disease?
Vaccines are one of the best tools that we have to prevent disease — including autoimmune disease. But many people still worry that vaccines cause health problems.
Why? Here are two common misconceptions:
Because vaccination rates and autoimmune disease rates have both gone up, they must be connected. This is false. Vaccination and autoimmune disease rates have increased, but this doesn’t mean that one caused the other. According to experts, the increase in autoimmune disease in recent decades is more closely linked to lifestyle and environmental changes than to vaccinations.
If you get vaccinated, your immune system might start to attack your own body. This is also false. Because vaccines activate your immune system, people worry that they could also trigger autoimmune disorders — especially since infections can trigger autoimmune conditions. But there’s actually pretty strong evidence that vaccines don’t cause this to happen.
So, what causes autoimmune disease?
We don’t know for sure what causes autoimmune conditions. It’s likely that in people with certain genes — or with a family history — an autoimmune disease can be triggered by a combination of environmental factors, including:
Toxic chemicals
Medications
Lifestyle
Diet
Can vaccines cause flare-ups in people with autoimmune disease?
It depends. Most of the time, vaccines don’t cause autoimmune disease flares. But in some people with autoimmune conditions, certain vaccines (especially live vaccines, which contain a weakened, but living, form of a virus) could cause a flare. Experts suggest that people with an autoimmune disease receive live vaccines with caution (if at all).
But it’s important to remember that vaccines keep you from getting sick. And in some cases, this can protect you from flares. For example, if you have lupus, getting the flu can make your lupus symptoms worse. So getting the flu vaccine can protect you from a flare.
If you have an autoimmune disease, talk with your healthcare team about which vaccines are right for you. They can help you understand the different options, and help create the best plan for you.
Why is it important for people with autoimmune diseases to get vaccinated?
People with autoimmune disease are at higher risk for developing infections that can be prevented by a vaccine. And, if they get an infection, they can get really sick. We know that the risks of vaccination are rare. For the most part, the benefits of preventing infection with vaccination far outweigh the risks.
The bottom line
There has been a lot of research looking at possible connections between vaccinations and autoimmune disease. And, experts agree, vaccines don’t cause autoimmune disease. In fact, vaccines prevent infections that cause autoimmune disease.
And people with autoimmune disease need to be especially mindful to protect themselves from infection because they can get more sick than the average person. So whether you have an autoimmune condition or you’re concerned about one, the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to get vaccinated.
Why trust our experts?
References
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