As a pediatrician, I have given thousands of shots to children over the years. While definitely one of the least ‘fun’ parts of my job, I know that it is one of the most important. Most of these children received their shots on schedule during their well visits, and I saw them come back year after year. It was always a joy to watch newborns grow into healthy kids who brought me drawings and cards.
Unfortunately, I have also seen with my own eyes children who suffered and even became permanently disabled from meningitis, whooping cough, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of these children caught these illnesses because of fear of vaccines—either their own family’s fear, which led to skipped vaccines, or others’ fear because vaccines work well only when most of the people around the child have also been vaccinated.
So, as we head into the fall/winter season when illnesses are at their peak and kids are inside in close quarters with other children (school is back in session), I think it is important that we address some of the fears and the myths around vaccines and provide some truths that will hopefully reassure the parents out there.
Myth #1: These illnesses aren’t that dangerous!
Truth #1: We vaccinate precisely because these bugs are dangerous. Before the 1985 introduction of the vaccine for HiB (a bacteria that causes meningitis, ear and sinus infections in children), around 20,000 cases of HiB meningitis occurred each year, and Hib was the top cause of meningitis and mental retardation in children. Now Hib meningitis is close to elimination. Even flu leads to a yearly average of between 140,000 and 710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 to 52,000 deaths.
Myth #2: I have health issues, so I shouldn’t get vaccines.
Truth #2: If you have health issues, you are exactly the RIGHT person to get all your vaccines. People who have asthma, heart conditions, diabetes, and immune problems are much more likely to be hospitalized or to die from vaccine-preventable illnesses. Also, children’s immune systems (especially those of children under five years of age), are much weaker than adults’, and their shots give them the benefit of much greater protection. Infants are the group most likely to be hospitalized or to die from vaccine-preventable illnesses, so starting at birth, they should get their shots on the schedule the CDC recommends.
Myth #3: Most shots don’t work that well, so why bother?
Truth #3: Most shots work REALLY well. Vaccines have almost completely eradicated polio, diphtheria, rubella, mumps, whooping cough, and measles. Even for the flu, where nature tries to be tricky and change the flu strain every season, getting the flu shot reduces your risk of getting the flu by 40%–60% and prevents around 58,000 hospitalizations in the US every year!
Recent outbreaks of measles—a highly transmissible disease that can be prevented with vaccines—show the importance of high vaccination coverage.
According to the CDC, at least 13 outbreaks have been reported in 2024, including one earlier this year in a Florida elementary school. Healthfirst encourages parents and caregivers to schedule
well-child visits and keep their children up to date with required vaccines.
The bottom line is that vaccines save lives. They work best when we all get them on the recommended schedule that scientists have spent years studying and developing since Dr. Edward Jenner created the smallpox vaccine in 1796. Vaccine science is not new, and vaccines are safe!
If you want to learn more about vaccines, look to sources of truth such as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center Vaccine Education Center | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (chop.edu) or the CDC. There is a lot of bad information on the internet, but the aforementioned institutions are sources you can trust. Don’t let fear prevent your child and your family from being healthier this winter.
*Dr. Maja Castillo is the Healthfirst Pediatric Medical Director and is a resident of Jackson Heights, Queens.
