08/27/2026
I read this headline this morning and found myself wondering how we got here? 🧐
We live in an age when access to information is nearly unlimited. But access to information is not the same thing as expertise.
A few hours on the internet cannot replace years spent studying immunology, epidemiology, and the accumulated evidence from millions of patients.
YES vaccines can have side effects AND vaccines can also be extraordinarily beneficial.
These statements are not contradictory!
Most vaccine side effects are mild, like pain or swelling at the injection site, fever, fatigue, headache.
There are also uncommon and, in some cases, very rare serious adverse events. Severe allergic reactions can occur. Certain vaccines have been associated with specific rare complications. E.g., some flu seasons have shown roughly 1-2 additional cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome per million flu vaccine doses. (CDC)
Science doesn’t pretend that those risks are zero. Medicine is about comparing risks.
Consider Guillain-Barré syndrome itself. Viral and bacterial infections are well-established triggers. About 2/3 of people who develop GBS report a respiratory or GI illness beforehand, and influenza infection is more likely to be associated with GBS than influenza vaccination itself. (CDC)
Exercise carries a risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Getting your nails done introduces a risk of infection.
Yet we don’t generally conclude that the existence of any risk means we should avoid an activity altogether.
A more useful question to ask is, what are the risks of doing this compared with the risks of NOT doing it?
There are also several vaccine claims that have persisted despite extensive study.
“Vaccines cause autism.”
Large epidemiologic studies have not demonstrated an association. A meta-analysis including more than 1.2 million children found no association between vaccination and autism, including no association with MMR or thimerosal. (PubMed)
“Kids get too many vaccines at once and it overwhelms their immune systems.”
Children encounter enormous numbers of antigens every day (just come visit our house for a few hours). Vaccines given together are specifically studied in combination, and there is no evidence that the recommended combinations overwhelm the immune system. (Chop)
“The ingredients are toxic.”
Toxicology is about dose, not simply whether a chemical name appears on an ingredient list. Aluminum salts, for example, are used in some vaccines as adjuvants to improve the immune response, and their safety has been extensively studied. (Chop) You want to avoid toxins? Quit your daily Diet Coke.
“Natural infection is better.”
Natural infection can certainly produce immunity. The problem is what you may have to endure to acquire it… pneumonia, encephalitis, hospitalization, neurologic injury, shingles infection and post herpetic neuralgia, congenital disease, or death, depending on the infection.
Vaccination is an attempt to teach the immune system without requiring us to first suffer the full consequences of the disease.
Questioning medicine is healthy. Asking your physician why a vaccine is recommended is wonderful. Asking about side effects, contraindications and alternatives is great.
The goal isn’t to prove that vaccines are risk-free. They’re not!
The goal is to look at the evidence, compare the risks and benefits, and make the choice most likely to protect our health and the health of the people around us.
That’s what evidence-based medicine does!
Do you vaccinate? Why or why not?
