Making the Vaccine Decision: Addressing Common Concerns
Most parents choose to vaccinate their children according to the recommended schedule. But some parents may still have questions about vaccines, and getting answers they can trust may be hard.
Talk to your child’s doctor if you have questions or concerns about vaccines for your child.
With so much information—and sometimes incorrect information—available today, learning the facts before making health decisions is very important.
How vaccines work: preventing diseases
- The diseases vaccines prevent can be dangerous, or even deadly.
- Statistically, the chances of your child getting diseases such as measles, pertussis, or another vaccine-preventable disease might be low, and your child might never need the protection vaccines offer. HOWEVER, you don’t want them to be lacking the protection vaccines provide if they ever do need it.
- Strengthening your baby’s immune system
Immunity is the body’s way of preventing disease. When your baby is born, his/her immune system is not fully developed, which can put him/her at greater risk for infections. Vaccines reduce your child’s risk of infection by working with his/her body’s natural defenses to help safely develop immunity to disease.
Babies are born with immune systems that can fight most germs, but there are some deadly diseases they can’t handle. That’s why they need vaccines to strengthen their immune system.
- Vaccines use very small amounts of antigens to help your child’s immune system recognize and learn to fight serious diseases. Antigens are parts of germs that cause the body’s immune system to go to work.
- Learn more about how vaccines work with the body’s immune systemand different types of immunity.
- Vaccine ingredients
- All ingredients of vaccines play necessary roleseither in making the vaccine, triggering the body to develop immunity, or in ensuring that the final product is safe and effective. Some of these include:
- Adjuvantshelp boost the body’s response to vaccine. (Also found in antacids, buffered aspirin, antiperspirants, etc.)
- Stabilizershelp keep vaccine effective after manufactured (Also found in foods such as Jell-O® and resides in the body naturally.)
- Formaldehydeis used prevent contamination by bacteria during the vaccine manufacturing process. Resides in body naturally (more in body than vaccines). (Also, found in environment, preservatives, and household products.)
- Thimerosalis also used during the manufacturing process but is no longer an ingredient in any vaccine except multi-dose vials of the flu vaccine. Single dose vials of the flu vaccine are available as an alternative. No reputable scientific studies have found an association between thimerosal in vaccines and autism.
Vaccines are safe
The safety of vaccines is often a topic of media stories and blog postings. This attention may make you wonder, “How do I know vaccines are safe?”
Making sure vaccines are safe is a priority for CDC. CDC and FDA take many steps to make sure vaccines are very safe both before and after the public begins using the vaccine.
- Before a vaccine is ever given to people, FDA oversees extensive lab testing of the vaccine that can take several years to make sure it is safe and effective. After the lab, testing in people begins, and it can take several more years before the clinical studies are complete and the vaccine is licensed.
- Once a vaccine is licensed, FDA, CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other federal agencies routinely monitor its use and investigate any potential safety concerns.
- Mild side effects are expected
- Like any medicine, vaccines can cause side effectssuch as a low-grade fever, or pain and redness at injection site. Mild reactions go away within a few days on their own.
- Severe, long lasting side effects are extremely rare.
If you have questions or concerns about a vaccine, talk with your child’s doctor. Learn about the safety of each recommended vaccine.
Why your child should get vaccinated
Vaccines can prevent infectious diseases that once killed or harmed many infants, children, and adults. Without vaccines, your child is at risk for getting seriously ill and suffering pain, disability, and even death from diseases like measles and whooping cough.
For parents who have questions about the schedule or wonder why it’s so important to follow, here are six reasons why you should vaccinate your child on time.
It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat it after it occurs.
- Vaccination is a highly effective, safe and easy way to help keep your family healthy.
- On-time vaccination throughout childhood is essential because it helps provide immunity before children are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.
- Vaccines are tested to ensure that they are safe and effective for children to receive at the recommended ages.
CDC Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) explain both the benefits and risks of a vaccine. VISs are available for each vaccine.