FAQs

Ingredients, also called additives, are added to vaccines to protect against disease and ensure the vaccines are safe, sterile, and effective. Certain ingredients, called adjuvants, used in vaccines help a child’s body produce the disease-fighting antibodies it needs.

Information about specific ingredients:

• Aluminum: Many parents have heard warnings about aluminum in childhood vaccines. There is nothing to fear from aluminum. It’s the most common metal found in nature, is part of our everyday environment, and is critical for making vaccines effective. In fact, an average adult consumes 10-14 times more aluminum every day than is found in a typical vaccine.
• Thimerosal: Since 2001, all vaccines routinely recommend by the CDC for children under six years of age are thimerosal free. Further, studies show vaccines containing thimerosal have no evidence of harm to humans aside from redness and swelling.
• Fetal Cells: People have been led to believe ongoing abortions are needed to manufacture certain vaccines containing fetal cells. This is untrue. The cells used in vaccines were obtained from two elective abortions performed in the early 1960s. These cell lines are maintained indefinitely and do not require further abortions. Further, the Catholic Church has determined the use of vaccines grown in fetal cells is morally acceptable.

Vaccines are some of the most tested and closely scrutinized medicines we take. Thousands of hours and millions of dollars go into each vaccine to make sure they are safe and effective before they’re given in doctors’ offices. Even after they are released for use, vaccines are continually tested and watched for safety.

Put simply, the lifesaving power of immunization outweighs any potential risk for every recommended vaccine. Parents and doctors can report serious side effects on the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting Systems (VAERS) website.

Some parents are concerned the number of vaccines on the recommended schedule is too many, too soon.

Choosing to space out vaccinations leaves children at risk when they need protection the most. Children are vaccinated at a young age when they are most susceptible to the diseases they are vaccinated against. Studies show no increased risk of side effects from getting multiple vaccines at one time. Unvaccinated children are more likely to get diseases. One study showed with whooping cough (pertussis) in particular, children who were unvaccinated were at least eight times more likely to get the disease.

View the CDC recommended immunization schedule.

The question of whether vaccines or vaccine components cause autism has been answered by science, and the results are clear: vaccines do not cause autism. There have been at least 107 different studies looking for a possible connection between vaccines and autism. None have found a link.

There are many theories about the causes of autism, but no definitive answers. Recent research suggests genetic risk factors are a big contributor. The Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting autism research, also agrees vaccines do not cause autism. It’s a great resource to check out for more information about what causes autism.

For over a decade, parents have heard about a possible connection between vaccines and autism. In 1998, a British physician, Andrew Wakefield, published a study claiming the MMR vaccine might cause a type developmental regression. In 2010, this study was fully retracted by its publisher, the Lancet . The study was found to be scientifically unsound because Wakefield manipulated and falsified his data. In May 2010, Great Britain’s General Medical Council revoked Wakefield’s medical license.

The sudden loss of an infant is tragic and leaves parents in shock and looking for answers. This pain has led some parents to question a possible relationship between immunization and sudden infant death syndrome

Immunization does not cause SIDS; however, deaths peak between 2 and 4 months of age when immunizations are frequent. Multiple scientific studies and safety reviews have looked at possible links between vaccines and SIDS. The evidence accumulated over many years shows no connection between childhood immunization and SIDS.

While it’s true community immunity is an important factor for containing disease, It’s not safe to assume you’re protected. In todays interconnected world, spreading an illness is just a plane ride away.

When immunization rates are low, disease outbreaks can occur, leaving all of us at risk. It’s up to all of us to protect those who aren’t able to be fully immunized. We have a responsibility to protect the those around us who aren’t able to be fully immunized (e.g., young babies, cancer patients, children on steroids for asthma, and the elderly). People who aren’t immunized, not only put themselves at risk from disease, but they also increase the risk of disease for others.

The rarity of many vaccine-preventable disease is a testament to the incredible success of immunization and vaccines. However, if we stop immunizing diseases can become more common in our communities.

Measles was once thought to be virtually wiped out in the U.S but has experienced a resurgence in recent years. So far, over 1,100 cases of measles have been reported in 2019, the highest of any year since 2000 when the disease was believed to have been eradicated.

 Disease rates are low in the U.S but that’s not the case everywhere. With so much travel to countries where diseases are still active, we can’t take the chance of being unprotected at home.

No vaccine is 100% effective. Some people who receive a vaccine are still at risk of contracting the disease. That’s why it’s important for as many people as possible to be immunized. Large numbers of immunized people prevent the spread of disease, protecting those who aren’t able to be immunized or whose vaccines aren’t fully effective.