Vaccines Are Very Safe
The long-standing U.S. vaccine safety system ensures that vaccines are as safe as possible. Currently, the United States has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in its history.
Safety monitoring begins with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency ensures the safety, effectiveness, and availability of vaccines in the United States. Before a vaccine is approved by the FDA for use by the public, results of studies on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine are evaluated by highly trained FDA scientists and doctors. FDA also inspects the sites where vaccines are made to make sure they follow strict manufacturing guidelines.
Although the most common side effects of a vaccine are identified in studies before the vaccine is licensed, rare adverse events may not be detected in these studies. Therefore, the U.S. vaccine safety system continuously monitors for possible side effects after a vaccine is licensed. When millions of people receive a vaccine, less common side effects that were not identified earlier may be detected.
If a link is found between a possible side effect and a vaccine, public health officials take appropriate action. First, additional studies will be quickly conducted to determine if there is an association between the vaccine and the side effects. If additional studies indicate a true association between the vaccine and the side effects, then public health experts will weigh the benefits of the vaccine against its risks to determine if recommendations for using the vaccine should change.
Why Is It Important to Monitor Vaccine Safety?
Vaccines are held to the highest standard of safety. The United States currently has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. Years of testing are required before a vaccine can be licensed. Once in use, vaccines are continually monitored for safety and efficacy.
Vaccines, like any medication, can cause adverse events. However, a decision not to immunize a child also involves risk. It is a decision to put the child and others who come into contact with him or her at risk of contracting a disease that could be dangerous or deadly.
Vaccine Side Effects
The most common side effects are mild. On the other hand, many vaccine-preventable disease symptoms can be serious, or even deadly. Even though many of these diseases are rare in this country, they still occur around the world and can be brought into the United States, putting unvaccinated children at risk.
The side effects associated with getting vaccines are almost always mild (such as redness and swelling where the shot was given, or a mild fever) and go away within a few days. If your child experiences a reaction at the injection site, you can use a cool, wet cloth to reduce redness, soreness, and swelling.
Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reactions, are very rare and doctors and clinic staff are trained to deal with them. Pay extra attention to your child for a few days after vaccination. If you see something that concerns you, call your child’s doctor.
More Information
LetsGetRealAboutVaccines.org
The Real Research Behind Vaccine Safety, also available in Spanish. Learn about the array of development, testing, clinical trials, review by experts, and ongoing monitoring programs that ensure vaccines are safe. Read more
RESOURCES
Vaccinations Are Safe: Explaining Why
An 8-page resource that reviews the scientific evidence supporting vaccination. Topics covered include how the safety of vaccines is monitored, the purpose of various ingredients, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the reasoning underlying vaccine policy, and other topics.
Partner Resources
The vaccine safety landing page of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia provides resources addressing over 30 topics under Vaccine Safety: vaccine ingredients, vaccines and other conditions, other safety concerns, and vaccine safety references.
This web page discusses hepatitis b vaccine, the old pertussis vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, and rare vaccine side effects.
This website, from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), shares available evidence on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines (also in Spanish).
Subjects covered include vaccine dosing and monitoring, side effects, allergies, childhood and infant vaccination, and vaccines and autism (also available in Spanish).
Vaccinate Your Family, originally founded in 1991 (as Every Child By Two) by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Former First Lady of Arkansas Betty Bumpers, provides science-based information so families can make educated decisions about vaccinations.
Describes the rigorous testing, ongoing monitoring that vaccines are subject to post approval, along with related legal documents such as the package insert or vaccine information statement.
Voices for Vaccines is an advocacy organization with credible vaccine information to empower families, promote confidence, and restore trust in the science behind vaccines.
Healthcare Triage: Vaccines and Autism
There is almost no topic in health and health policy that immediately polarizes people more than the idea that vaccines cause autism. Even though the original big paper on this topic came out at the end of the last century, the anger this causes is still raw and potent. But there is a very, very large amount of research showing that vaccines and autism are unrelated.