Vaccines Prevent Disease
Vaccines, also known as immunizations, help protect us from serious illnesses and keep us healthy at every age. Use the links below to learn which vaccines you and your family may need. If you have questions, talk to your or your child’s healthcare provider.
Misinformation about vaccine safety often spreads through well-meaning friends, family, and influencers who misinterpret data or share inaccurate claims. Here are some common misconceptions, and the facts that help set the record straight.
Websites you can trust:
Vaccines do not cause autism.
Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a serious threat.
While vaccines have made many diseases rare, they have not eliminated them completely. If vaccination rates drop, diseases that can cause severe complications or death, may return.
Natural protection from infection is not safer or more effective than immunity from a vaccine.
Vaccines do not contain harmful, toxic ingredients.
Infant immune systems cannot be overloaded by too many vaccines at once.
Vaccines do not give you the disease they are meant to prevent.
Most vaccines contain killed or harmless parts of a virus or bacteria, making it impossible to get the disease. Live-attenuated vaccines, like the chickenpox shot, might cause a very mild rash, but not actual disease.
For more information about the services and vaccines you or your child could be due for, visit the Preventive Health Guidelines webpage.