At Summit Health, our physicians strongly support the use of vaccines as one of the safest and most effective ways to protect individuals, families and communities from serious disease. Our pediatricians and primary care physicians are here for you—whether you’re an expectant parent, caring for a newborn, managing your own health or simply have questions.
Pediatricians Abigail Grossman, MD, and Aashiki Shah, DO, regularly speak with families about vaccines and childhood health. In a recent webinar they hosted, Dr. Grossman and Dr. Shah discuss what parents need to know about childhood vaccines from birth through age 5—including how vaccines work, why they’re important and how the recommended vaccine schedule is designed to protect children when they’re most vulnerable. If you’d like to dive deeper, watch the full webinar to learn more.
“Here at Summit Health, we follow evidence-based vaccination guidelines,” says Dr. Shah. “We believe open, evidence-based conversations about immunization decisions are essential and encourage patients to speak with their care team about any concerns they may have.
What Is a Vaccine?
Vaccines are made from small, weakened or inactive pieces of a germ—such as a virus or bacteria—that cannot cause disease. Instead, they safely show the immune system what the real germ looks like.
This allows the body to produce protective defenses called antibodies. If the real pathogen is encountered later, the immune system can respond quickly and effectively, preventing severe illness, hospitalization or death. In short, vaccines help the body build immunity before exposure, when protection matters most.
How Vaccines Save Lives
Vaccines prevent an estimated more than 4 million deaths worldwide every year. In the United States alone, routine childhood immunizations among children born between 1994 and 2023 are estimated to have prevented over one million deaths, reducing disease and death rates from many infections by more than 90%.
Because vaccines have been so successful, many parents and patients have never seen the devastating effects of diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria or meningitis. Unfortunately, when vaccination rates decline, these diseases can—and do—return.
“Vaccines have been studied extensively, monitored continuously and used successfully for decades,” says Dr. Grossman. “They save millions of lives each year and remain a cornerstone of preventive medicine.
Vaccine Safety: Why Vaccines Are Safer Than the Diseases They Prevent
Vaccines are controlled, predictable and far safer than the illnesses they protect against. Common side effects are usually mild and short-lived, such as soreness at the injection site, low-grade fever or temporary fatigue.
Severe allergic reactions are extremely rare—occurring in about 1 in 500,000 to 1 in 1 million doses—and are much less common than serious complications from the diseases themselves. For example, measles causes death in 1–3 out of every 1,000 infected children, a far greater risk than any vaccine reaction.
How Vaccines Are Tested and Monitored
Vaccine development is a rigorous, multi-step process that includes:
- Extensive laboratory research
- Multiple phases of clinical trials involving thousands of participants
- Careful review by regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Ongoing safety monitoring even after approval
Once vaccines are in use, systems like the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) continuously track safety data. This layered oversight ensures vaccines meet the highest standards for safety, quality and effectiveness.
Vaccines During Pregnancy: Protection Starts Early
Some vaccines are recommended during pregnancy because they protect both the parent and the baby.
- Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) is given during each pregnancy to protect newborns from whooping cough, a potentially deadly illness in infants.
- Flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be given in any trimester and reduce the risk of serious complications for both parent and baby.
RSV vaccine, given in the third trimester, allows protective antibodies to pass to the baby, significantly reducing infant hospitalizations.
“These vaccines are supported by extensive data showing they are both safe and effective,” says Dr. Grossman.
Why Infants and Young Children Need Vaccines Early
Infants have immature immune systems and limited protection from maternal antibodies. This makes them especially vulnerable to severe, life-threatening infections.
The recommended childhood vaccine schedule is carefully designed to:
- Protect children when they are most vulnerable
Account for how the immune system develops - Maximize effectiveness and safety
Vaccines given in infancy protect against diseases such as hepatitis B, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, meningitis, polio, rotavirus and more—many of which can cause hospitalization, long-term disability or death in young children.
Vaccines for Toddlers, Children and School-Age Kids
As children grow, vaccines continue to provide protection against serious illnesses such as:
- Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
- Chickenpox (varicella)
- Hepatitis A
Booster doses given between ages 4 and 6 help ensure long-term immunity and protect children as they enter school, where exposure risk increases. “These boosters also strengthen community protection and help prevent outbreaks,” notes Dr. Shah.
Vaccines for Adolescents and Adults
Vaccination remains important throughout life. Annual flu vaccines, updated COVID-19 vaccines and routine boosters (such as Tdap every 10 years) help maintain protection as immunity naturally wanes and viruses change over time.
Dr. Grossman adds: “Vaccines are especially important for people with chronic conditions, weakened immune systems or those caring for infants and older adults.”
Addressing Common Myths and Misinformation
Vaccines do not cause autism.
This concern comes up often, and it’s understandable for parents to want reassurance. The idea started with a study that was later proven to be false and officially withdrawn. Since then, researchers around the world have studied millions of children and consistently found no connection between vaccines and autism.
Vaccine ingredients are safe.
Some ingredient names can sound unfamiliar, but the amounts used in vaccines are extremely small. Ingredients like aluminum and formaldehyde are already present in our bodies and in everyday foods and environments. In fact, we’re exposed to much higher levels naturally than what’s found in vaccines.
Delaying or spacing vaccines doesn’t make them safer.
Waiting to vaccinate can actually leave children vulnerable during the time they need protection most. The recommended vaccine schedule is carefully designed using decades of research to offer the safest and most effective protection at each stage of a child’s development.
Vaccines Protect Individuals and Communities
“Vaccines work much like seatbelts,” explains Dr. Grossman. “They don’t eliminate every risk, but they dramatically reduce the chance of serious harm. They also protect others—especially infants, older adults and people who cannot be vaccinated due to medical conditions—by limiting the spread of disease.”
When vaccination rates drop, outbreaks can occur, as seen recently with measles and pertussis in parts of the U.S.
Our Commitment to You
At Summit Health, we are committed to providing accurate, evidence-based guidance and compassionate care. Vaccines remain one of the most powerful tools we have to protect health at every stage of life.
If you have questions or concerns, our pediatricians and primary care physicians are always here to talk, listen and help you make informed decisions for yourself and your family. To make an appointment, click here.