Surveys indicate that parents, overwhelmingly, rely on their child's health care provider to help them make the vaccination decision. This decision should be made with full understanding of vaccines' risks and benefits to individuals and communities. The following information offers brief explanations for commonly held misconceptions about the value and safety of vaccination. Parents are encouraged to talk to their trusted health care provider if they have questions or concerns about vaccination.
Vaccines are very safe.
Most reactions are minor and treatable. There are so few deaths that could plausibly be connected to vaccine and the risk is so small that it is hard to assess statistically. In that case we call it a theoretical risk. Vaccines are as safe today as modern science can achieve. We continually work on trying to identify any possible long-term effects and to make vaccines safer.