Vaccine Safety

Are vaccines safe? The short answer is yes. 

But a better way to ask the question is: Are vaccines safer than the diseases they prevent? The answer to that question is yes, absolutely. Vaccines are medicines, and carry risks of side effects like all medicines. But those risks are much smaller than the risks posed by the diseases the vaccines prevent.

Because of myths and misinformation, many parents report feeling concerned about vaccine safety. Here are a few web sites we recommend for fact-based information about vaccines:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Parent concerns about vaccines

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Vaccine Safety FAQ and Vaccine Safety Hot Topics (links on the left side of the page)  

AAP Childhood Immunization Support Program
Vaccine safety and evaluating information you find on the internet