Vaccine Safety Information for Parents

Vaccines Are Safe

Vaccines are held to the highest standard of safety. The United = States=20 currently has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. = Years of=20 testing are required by law before a vaccine can be licensed. Once in = use,=20 vaccines are continually monitored for safety and efficacy.

Be Aware of the Risks

Immunizations, like any medication, can cause side effects. However, = a=20 decision not to immunize a child also involves risk. It is a decision to = put the=20 child and others who come into contact with him or her at risk of = contracting a=20 disease that could be dangerous or deadly. Consider measles. One out of = 30=20 children with measles develops pneumonia. For every 1,000 children who = get the=20 disease, one or two will die from it. Thanks to vaccines, we have few = cases of=20 measles in the U.S. today. However, the disease is extremely contagious, = and=20 each year dozens of cases are imported from abroad into the U.S., = threatening=20 the health of people who have not been vaccinated and those for whom the = vaccine=20 was not effective.

Are vaccines tested and monitored for = safety?
Yes. Before=20 vaccines are licensed, the FDA requires testing to ensure safety. This = process=20 can take 10 years or longer. Once a vaccine is in use, the CDC and FDA = monitor=20 its side effects through the V= accine=20 Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Any hint of a problem with a = vaccine=20 prompts further investigations by the CDC and FDA. If researchers find a = vaccine=20 may be causing a side effect, the CDC and FDA will initiate actions = appropriate=20 to the nature of the problem. This may include the changing of vaccine = labels or=20 packaging, distributing safety alerts, inspecting manufacturers' = facilities and=20 records, withdrawing recommendations for the use of the vaccine, or = revoking the=20 vaccine's license.

Who should not be vaccinated?
Some people should = not get=20 certain vaccines or should wait to get them. For instance, children with = compromised immune systems, as occurs with cancer patients, often need = to wait=20 to be vaccinated. Similarly, if a person has had a severe allergic = reaction to a=20 vaccine, a subsequent dose is not reccommended. However, a person with a = mild,=20 common illness, such as a cold with a low-grade fever, does not have to = wait to=20 be vaccinated. Ask your health care provider for more information.

What should be done if someone has a reaction to a=20 vaccine?

Call a doctor. If the reaction is severe, take the person to a = doctor=20 immediately.=20
After any reaction, tell your doctor what happened, when it = happened, and=20 when the vaccination was given.=20
Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a VAERS form, = or call=20 VAERS yourself at 1-800-822-7967.

Each person is unique and may react differently to immunization.

Occasionally, people who receive a vaccine do not respond to it = and may=20 still get the illness the vaccine was meant to protect them against. =
In most cases, vaccines are effective and cause no side effects, = or only=20 mild reactions such as fever or soreness at the injection site. =
Very rarely, people experience more serious side effects, like = allergic=20 reactions. Be sure to tell your health care provider if you have = health=20 problems or known allergies to medications or food.
Severe reactions to vaccines occur so rarely that the risk is = difficult to=20 calculate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and = Drug=20 Administration (FDA) continually work to make already safe vaccines even = safer.=20 In the rare event that a child is injured by a vaccine, he or she may be = compensated through the National Vaccine = Injury=20 Compensation Program (VICP) or call 1-800-338-2382.

Vaccine Safety Information for Parents

Vaccines Are Safe

Be Aware of the Risks

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