Vaccination protects children against many infectious diseases. Vaccines contain either noninfectious components of bacteria or viruses or whole forms of these organisms that have been weakened so that they do not cause disease. Giving a vaccine (usually by injection) stimulates the body's immune system to defend against that disease. Vaccination is also called immunization because it produces a state of immunity to disease (see also Overview of Immunization).
Childhood Vaccination Schedules
In the United States, childhood vaccination follows a schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which begins with the hepatitis B vaccine given in the hospital nursery and continues throughout childhood:
Recommended Vaccinations for Infants and Children: Birth through 6 Years, United States
Recommended Vaccinations for Children 7 to 18 Years Old, United States
Parents should try to have their children vaccinated according to the schedule. A significant delay in vaccination puts children at risk of the serious diseases the vaccines could prevent. If children miss a vaccine dose, parents should talk to their doctor about catching up with the schedule. Missing a dose does not require children to restart the series of injections from the beginning. The following schedule is used to catch up when behind on vaccinations:
Vaccination does not need to be delayed if children have a slight fever resulting from a mild infection, such as an ordinary cold.
Some vaccines are recommended only under special circumstances—for example, only when children have an increased risk of getting the disease the vaccine prevents.
More than one vaccine may be given during a visit to the doctor's office, and several vaccines are often combined into one injection. For example, there is a vaccine that combines pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines in one injection. A combination vaccine simply reduces the number of injections needed and does not reduce the safety or effectiveness of the vaccines. (See also CDC: Multiple Vaccines at Once.)
Vaccine Effectiveness
Vaccination is effective in preventing serious disease. Without vaccines, children are at risk of becoming seriously ill or even dying from diseases such as measles and whooping cough. Vaccines have been so effective that many health care professionals currently in practice have seen few or no cases of diseases that were once extremely common and often fatal (see CDC: Diseases You Almost Forgot About Thanks to Vaccines).
Vaccines have eliminated smallpox and have nearly eliminated other infections, such as polio, that were once common causes of chronic health issues or death in children. However, many of the diseases prevented by vaccination are still present in the United States and remain common in some parts of the world. These infections can spread rapidly among unvaccinated children, who, because of the ease of modern travel, can be exposed even if they live in areas where a disease is not common. Therefore, it is important for children to continue to be vaccinated.
Vaccine Safety
Vaccines that are approved for clinical use are generally safe and effective. No vaccine (or other medication) is 100% effective and 100% safe. A few vaccinated children do not become immune, and a few develop side effects. Most often, the side effects are minor, such as pain and redness at the injection site, a rash, or a mild fever. Very rarely, there are more serious problems.
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
Before a new vaccine can be licensed, it, like any medical product, is tested in clinical trials. Such trials compare the new vaccine to a placebo or to a previously existing vaccine for the same disease to assess whether the vaccine is effective and identify common side effects. However, some side effects are too rare to be detected in any reasonably sized clinical trial and do not become apparent until after a vaccine is used routinely in many people. Thus, a surveillance system called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (see VAERS) was created to monitor the safety of vaccines that are used in the general public.
VAERS is a safety program cosponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is used to collect reports from people who believe that they had a side effect after a recent vaccination and from health care professionals who identify certain possible side effects after a vaccine was given, even if they are unsure the effects are related to the vaccine. Thus, the existence of a VAERS report is not proof that a vaccine caused a certain side effect. VAERS is simply a system for collecting data about things that might be side effects. Then, the FDA can further evaluate the concern by comparing how often the possible side effect occurred in people who were vaccinated to how often it occurred in people who were not vaccinated.
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
To help people evaluate the risks and benefits of vaccination, the US government requires doctors to give parents a Vaccine Information Statement each time a child is vaccinated. Also, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has been established to compensate people with proven vaccine-related injuries. This program was established because doctors and health authorities want as many children as possible to be protected from life-threatening diseases.
When considering the risks and benefits of vaccination, parents must remember that for most children the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks.
More Information
The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of these resources.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Information about vaccines and immunization schedules for infants, children, and adolescents
CDC: Vaccines by age: Information about vaccines broken down by age, from birth through age 18 years
CDC: Vaccine Safety: A resource providing information regarding all aspects of vaccine safety, including safety monitoring and research
CDC: Making the Vaccine Decision: Addressing Common Concerns: Information about why it is important to have children vaccinated
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): Where and how to report side effects of vaccines
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: Where and how to claim a vaccine injury benefit
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): Vaccine schedules in all countries in the European Union/European Economic Area
