Are vaccines safe?
Yes. Vaccines are very safe. The United States’ long-standing vaccine safety system ensures that vaccines are as safe as possible. Currently, the United States has the safest vaccine supply in its history. Millions of children safely receive vaccines each year. The most common side effects are typically very mild, such as pain or swelling at the injection site.
Has Massachusetts changed its recommendations for childhood vaccines?
Massachusetts recommends the same schedule it has recommended in recent years.
Massachusetts has a longstanding and ongoing commitment to promoting evidence-based immunization practices that protect communities from vaccine preventable illnesses. Historically, Massachusetts has recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pediatric immunization schedule. Following a review of recent changes to CDC’s pediatric immunization schedule, however, DPH now recommends that clinicians in Massachusetts use the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule as the primary reference for the routine immunization of infants, children, and adolescents. For more information on the AAP’s immunization recommendations visit: All About the AAP Recommended Immunization Schedule
AAP is a national professional organization representing pediatric physicians, and its immunization schedule is developed by pediatric experts and updated regularly to reflect current evidence and clinical best practices for immunizing children and adolescents. The AAP immunization schedule aligns with science-backed pediatric standards of care and provides detailed guidance that supports clinical decision-making in pediatric settings.
What are the side effects of the vaccines? How do I treat them?
Vaccines, like any medication, may cause some side effects. Most of these side effects are very minor, like soreness where the shot was given, fussiness, or a low-grade fever. These side effects typically last only a couple of days and are treatable. For example, you can apply a cool, wet wash cloth to the sore area to ease discomfort.
Serious reactions are very rare. However, if your child experiences any reactions that concern you, call the doctor’s office.
What are the risks and benefits of vaccines?
Vaccines prevent infectious diseases that once killed or harmed many infants, children, and adults. Without vaccines, your child is at risk of becoming seriously ill and suffering pain, disability, and even death from diseases like measles and whooping cough. The main risks associated with getting vaccines are side effects, which are almost always mild (redness and swelling at the injection site) and go away within a few days. Serious side effects after vaccination, such as a severe allergic reaction, are very rare and doctors and clinic staff are trained to manage them. The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.
Is there a link between vaccines and autism?
No. Scientific studies and reviews continue to show no relationship between vaccines and autism. Decades of extensive, high-quality scientific research studies have been conducted in many different countries and involving millions of children. The research studies compared vaccinated children with unvaccinated children and found no increased risk of autism in those who received vaccines. Major health and scientific organizations worldwide, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism.
Can vaccines overload my baby’s immune system? Is it safe to get multiple vaccines at once?
Vaccines do not overload the immune system. Every day, a healthy baby’s immune system successfully fights off thousands of germs. Antigens are parts of germs that cause the body’s immune system to go to work to build antibodies, which fight off diseases.
The antigens in vaccines come from the germs themselves, but the germs are weakened or killed so they cannot cause serious illness. Even if babies receive several vaccinations in one day, vaccines contain only a tiny fraction of the antigens they encounter every day in their environment. Vaccines train your child’s immune system to fight off serious vaccine-preventable diseases. Giving several vaccines at the same time means fewer office visits and less trauma for the child.
Why are so many doses needed for each vaccine?
Getting every recommended dose of each vaccine provides your child with the best protection possible. Depending on the vaccine, your child will need more than one dose to build high enough immunity to prevent disease or to boost immunity that fades over time. Your child may also receive more than one dose to make sure they are protected if they did not get immunity from a first dose, or to protect them against germs that change over time, like flu and COVID-19. Every dose is important because each protects against infectious diseases that can be especially serious for infants and very young children.
Why do vaccines start so early?
The recommended schedule protects infants and children by providing immunity early in life, before they come into contact with life-threatening diseases. Children receive immunization early because they are susceptible to diseases at a young age. The consequences of these diseases can be very serious, even life-threatening, for infants and young children.
What do you think of delaying some vaccines or following a non-standard schedule?
Children do not receive any known benefits from following schedules that delay vaccines. Infants and young children who follow immunization schedules that spread out or leave out shots are at risk of developing diseases during the time you delay their shots. Some vaccine-preventable diseases remain common in the United States and children may be exposed to these diseases during the time they are not protected by vaccines, placing them at risk for a serious case of the disease that might cause hospitalization or death.
Haven’t we gotten rid of most of these diseases in this country?
Some vaccine-preventable diseases, like pertussis (whooping cough) and chickenpox, remain common in the United States. On the other hand, other diseases vaccines prevent are no longer common in this country because of vaccines. However, if we stopped vaccinating, the few cases we have in the United States could very quickly become tens or hundreds of thousands of cases. Even though many serious vaccine-preventable diseases are uncommon in the United States, some are common in other parts of the world. Even if your family does not travel internationally, you could come into contact with international travelers anywhere in your community. Children who don’t receive all vaccinations and are exposed to a disease can become seriously sick and spread it through a community.
What are combination vaccines? Why are they used?
Combination vaccines protect your child against more than one disease with a single shot. They reduce the number of shots and office visits your child would need, which not only saves you time, but also is easier on your child.
Some common combination vaccines are Pediarix® which combines DTaP, Hep B, and IPV (polio) and ProQuad® which combines MMR and varicella (chickenpox).
Can’t I just wait until my child goes to school to catch up on immunizations?
Before entering school, young children can be exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases from parents and other adults, siblings, on a plane, at childcare, or even at the grocery store. Children under age 5 are especially susceptible to diseases because their immune systems have not built up the necessary defenses to fight infection. Don’t wait to protect your baby and risk getting these diseases when they need protection now.
Does my infant or child need the hepatitis B vaccine?
Hepatitis B is a virus that affects the liver. It can lead to serious long-term health problems, including liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.
Babies and young children are especially at risk because:
- They can get the virus at birth if the parent is infected.
- They can also get it later from close contact with someone who has hepatitis B, even if that person doesn’t know they’re infected.
- Babies who get hepatitis B are much more likely to develop lifelong infection.
Why is getting a hepatitis B vaccine at birth important?
For more than 30 years, public health experts and pediatricians have recommended that all newborns receive their first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth. Since then, hepatitis B infections in children and teens have dropped by 99%.
This vaccine has a long track record of being safe and effective. Hepatitis B vaccine will continue to be available through the Commonwealth’s pediatric universal vaccine program that provides free vaccines for all children through 18 years of age. Check out DPH Hepatitis B Vaccine Guidance for Families of Infants and Young Children for more information.
Why does my child need a chickenpox shot? Isn’t it a mild disease?
Your child needs a chickenpox vaccine because chickenpox can actually be a serious disease. In many cases, children experience a mild case of chickenpox, but other children may have blisters that become infected. Others may develop pneumonia. There is no way to tell in advance how severe your child’s symptoms will be.
Before vaccine was available, about 50 children died every year from chickenpox, and about 1 in 500 children who got chickenpox was hospitalized.
Does my child need an updated COVID-19 vaccine?
COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. Your child should stay up to date with recommended doses to help prevent getting seriously sick if they get COVID-19. Recommended doses vary based on your child’s age and the type of COVID-19 vaccine used.
Learn more by visiting the COVID Vaccine Checklist for Kids page and talk with your child's healthcare provider about which dose is right for them.
My child is sick right now. Is it okay for them to still get vaccinated?
Talk with your child’s doctor, but children can usually get vaccinated even if they have a mild illness like a cold, earache, mild fever, or diarrhea. If the doctor says it is okay, your child can still get vaccinated.
What are the ingredients in vaccines and what do they do?
Vaccines contain ingredients that cause the body to develop immunity. Vaccines also contain very small amounts of other ingredients. All ingredients play necessary roles either in making the vaccine, or in ensuring that the final product is safe and effective.
Don’t infants have natural immunity? Isn’t natural immunity better than the kind from vaccines?
Babies may get some temporary immunity (protection) from mom during the last few weeks of pregnancy, but only for diseases to which mom is immune. Breastfeeding may also protect your baby temporarily from minor infections, like colds. These antibodies do not last long, leaving your baby vulnerable to disease.
Natural immunity occurs when your child is exposed to a disease and becomes infected. It is true that natural immunity usually results in better immunity than vaccination, but the risks are much greater. A natural chickenpox infection may result in pneumonia, whereas the vaccine might only cause a sore arm for a couple of days.
Can I just wait to vaccinate my baby? They're not in child care, so they're not exposed.
No, even young children who are cared for at home can be exposed to vaccine preventable diseases, so it’s important for them to get all their vaccines at the recommended ages. Children can catch these illnesses from any number of people or places, including from parents, siblings, visitors to their home, on playgrounds or even at the grocery store. Regardless of whether your baby is cared for outside the home, they may come in contact with people throughout the day, some of whom may be sick but do not know it yet.
If someone has a vaccine preventable disease, they may not have symptoms or the symptoms may be mild, and they can end up spreading disease to babies or young children. Remember, many of these diseases can be especially dangerous to young children, so it is safest to vaccinate children at the recommended ages to protect them, even if they are not in childcare.
Do I have to vaccinate my baby on schedule if I’m breastfeeding them?
Yes, even breastfed babies need to be protected with vaccines at the recommended ages. The immune system is not fully developed at birth, which puts newborns at greater risk for infections.
Breast milk provides important protection from some infections as your baby’s immune system is developing. For example, babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of ear infections, respiratory tract infections, and diarrhea. However, breast milk does not protect children against all diseases. Even in breastfed infants, vaccines are the most effective way to prevent many diseases because the protection is long-lasting. Your baby needs the long-term protection that can only come from making sure they receive all their vaccines according to the AAP’s recommended schedule.
What’s wrong with delaying some of my baby’s vaccines if I’m planning to get them all eventually?
Young children have the highest risk of having a serious case of disease that could cause hospitalization or death. Delaying or spreading out vaccine doses leaves your child unprotected during the time when they need vaccine protection the most. For example, diseases such as Hib or pneumococcus almost always occur in the first 2 years of a baby’s life. And some diseases, like hepatitis B and whooping cough (pertussis), are more serious when babies get them at a younger age. Vaccinating your child according to the AAP’s recommended immunization schedule means you can help protect them at a young age.
Where can I get more information?
- The Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia provides complete, up-to-date and reliable information about vaccines to parents and healthcare professionals.
- Vaccine Safety
- They have many factsheets about individual vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine ingredients, and the recommended childhood schedule.
- Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know is a mobile app for parents that includes many vaccine topics (how vaccines are made, ingredients, and scheduling)
- Parents PACK (Possessing, Accessing and Communicating Knowledge about vaccines) is a resource center and newsletter for parents to stay informed about vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has information in Immunizations, including frequently asked questions
- VaccineInformation.org presents straightforward information about vaccine-preventable diseases and their vaccines. At VaccineInformation.org, you will find accurate, factual information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. They also provide information on Vaccine Safety.
- Voices for Vaccines is a parent-driven organization supported by scientists, doctors, and public health officials that provides parents clear, science-based information about vaccines and vaccine-preventable disease.
- Vaccinate Your Family is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases in families and individuals.
- Trusted Health Education from Family Physicians | familydoctor.org
How can I access pediatric vaccines for my child?
Start by speaking with your child’s health care provider. Nearly all pediatric providers in Massachusetts are enrolled in the Commonwealth’s universal pediatric vaccine program which provides vaccines for all children through 18 years of age regardless of insurance coverage. If a pediatric provider is not enrolled in the universal vaccine program, they should refer you to a provider who is able to provide you the free vaccines. If you need assistance locating a Primary Care Provider (PCP), please visit: Find a Primary Care Provider (PCP).