Immunization resources

Parents and teens

Materials for parents or caretakers. Our featured resources give you quick access to some of the most essential information for parents. For information on specific diseases, visit our Diseases and vaccines section.

Featured resources

Childhood immunization: What you need to know
PATH
Information for parents and health care workers about diseases and vaccines, extensive questions and answers, and charts comparing disease risk versus vaccine risk.

Evaluating immunization information on the web
National Network for Immunization Information (NNii)
Tips on how to evaluate information on the internet regarding diseases and vaccines.

Media availability on vaccine safety (2008)
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This page contains the transcript of a telebriefing between media and the CDC on the science of vaccines and autism.

Mercury levels in newborns and infants after receipt of thimerosal-containing vaccines (2008)
Pichichero M, et al. Pediatrics. 2008;102(2):208-214
This recent study assesses blood levels and the elimination of ethyl mercury after vaccination of infants with thimerosal-containing vaccines.

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This page has links to CDC information about various immunization-related issues that may be of concern to parents. Previously the National Immunization Program.

Progress for children: a report card on immunization (2005)
UNICEF
This report analyzes global immunization progress and challenges, with a focus on regional activities.

Seven reasons to vaccinate newborns
Sharon Humiston, MD
This one page article, written by a pediatrician who is also a mom, summarizes the vaccines used in the US and the diseases they protect against. The article comes from an issue of the newsletter published by Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDS), a support organization for families whose lives have been touched by hepatitis B and other diseases.

Vaccine safety
CDC
This helpful website offers an overview of vaccine safety issues, addresses common concerns, and provides links to further, more-detailed information.

Basic information for parents and teens

Ask the experts
PKIDS
Clinical experts answer parents' questions about diseases such as hepatitis B, among others.

Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion/La Coalition Canadienne pour la Sensibilisation et la Promotion del la Vaccination
Canadian Public Health Association
Provided in both English and French, this website offers general and technical information on vaccines provided in Canada.

Childhood immunisation
United Kingdom Department of Health, National Health Service
Comprehensive, up-to-date, and accurate information on vaccines, disease, and immunization in the UK.

Childhood Immunization Support Program
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
This AAP program provides video and text resources for parents.

Childhood vaccinations (1999)
Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio
This audio segment features guests Dr. Louis Cooper of the AAP and Barbara Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center. 

Children suffering from infectious diseases (photos)
AAP
Because we immunize our children, most of us have never seen symptoms like these. Warning: The photos are graphic and may be disturbing.

Communicating with patients about immunization
NNii
This comprehensive kit is designed to help health care providers discuss immunization with their patients. The kit provides accessible information on everything from immunization recommendations to common questions and concerns.

DirectoryKids.com
Links to organizations that provide resources on topics related to childhood immunizations.

Do not become complacent about immunization
KidsGrowth
This article warns of the danger of not vaccinating children in light of lower awareness of the consequences of diseases that can be prevented through immunization.

Facts and myths about immunization
KidsHealth, Nemours Foundation
Answers to general questions about childhood vaccinations.

Facts for life: Immunization/la vaccination/inmunización
UNICEF
These fact sheets provide information about vaccination for families and communities.

Free print materials
Immunization Action Coalition
This US-based site has a wealth of education materials, including English and Spanish vaccination information sheets, among others. Many are available both in Adobe Acrobat and "web" versions.

Immunization is not a matter of choice
KidsGrowth
Fact-based rebuttals to common myths about childhood vaccinations.

Inmunización
CDC
Spanish-language information about vaccines. Información en español sobre las vacunas.

Parent's frequently asked questions about immunisation
Health Education Authority of the United Kingdom
Answers to a number of common questions, provided by the UK national immunization program.

Parents Page
NNii
Help for parents with immunization decision-making and evaluating related information on the web.

Questions parents ask about baby shots (2000)
Child Vaccination Program/Immunization Action Coalition
This simple, attractive, trifold brochure for parents was created by the Child Vaccination Program in New York City and was modified and reprinted by the Immunization Action Coalition.

Should I vaccinate my child? A physician’s perspective
Gellin B. NNii
In this four-page interview Dr. Bruce Gellin, head of the National Network for Immunization Information, discusses parental concerns and the consequences of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children.

US childhood immunization schedule (2008)
NIP
This resource provides the most up-to-date schedule of immunizations for children and adolescents, as recommended by the CDC.

Vaccination: Sites francophones
Hopitaux de Rouen
Links to French language websites with information on vaccinations.

Vaccine effectiveness
NNii
This resource provides a rationale for immunizing children and answers related questions.

Vaccine education center
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Extensive information for parents and professionals.

Vaccine information statements
CDC
Brochures on the vaccines commonly given to US children. The sheets often are provided by pediatricians when discussing immunization with parents.

Vaccines dramatically reduce disease in the United States (1999)
CDC
This chart, adapted by the Immunization Action Coalition from data in the April 2, 1999, issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Record, compares baseline 20th century annual morbidity with 1998 provisional morbidity for ten diseases. The chart demonstrates decreases in morbidity ranging from 95.7% for pertussis to 100% for smallpox, diphtheria, polio, and measles.

Vaccines for your beloved baby (1995)
PATH and Thailand Ministry of Health
A translation of a booklet developed for Thai parents. It may provide ideas for development of health education materials.

Vaccines: Separating fact from fear (video)
The Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
This 27-minute video answers questions many parents have about vaccines and provides an extensive list of responsible websites. It also includes stories of several parents whose children suffered vaccine-preventable diseases.

What would happen if we stopped vaccinations? (1998)
CDC
A summary of the disease-related consequences of stopping immunization.

Why immunizations are important
AAP
This resource provides technically-accurate answers to common myths about childhood immunizations.

Your child's immunizations
KidsHealth, Nemours Foundation
General information on childhood immunizations plus details on specific vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccine safety

Addressing parents’ concerns: Do multiple vaccines overwhelm or weaken the infant’s immune system? (2002)
AAP
This review examines questions about the use and impact of multiple vaccines on an infant’s immune system.

The case for childhood immunization (2002)
Kane M, Lasher H. PATH
This colorful, evidence-based, 16- page paper documents the many benefits of fully immunizing children.

Continuing Increases in Autism Reported to California's Developmental Services System (2008)
Schechter R, Grether J. Archives of General Psychiatry. 65(1):19-24
This study evaluates the rates of autism in California following the discontinued use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines.

Early thimerosal exposure and neuropsychological outcomes at 7 to 10 years (2007)
Thompson W, et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 357(13):1281-1292
Investigators assessed neurological outcomes by testing more than 1,000 children aged 7 to 10 years and determined that early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines was not associated with deficits in neuropsychological functioning.

Immunization safety review: Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism (2001)
Institute of Medicine (IOM), Immunization Safety Committee
This IOM expert committee report responds to a specific immunization safety concern. Information on the Immunization Safety Review Committee can be found at www.iom.edu/ImSafety.

Immunization Safety Review Committee: Vaccines and autism (2004)
This eighth and final report of the Immunization Safety Review Committee examines the hypothesis that vaccines, specifically the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and thimerosal-containing vaccines, are causally associated with autism.

Immunization Safety
World Health Organization (WHO)
The purpose of this website is to provide easy access to up-to-date factual information, global policies, best practices and resource documents, including training and communication material, in the area of immunization safety.

Impact of antivaccine movements on pertussis control: The untold story (1998)
Gangarosa E, et al. Lancet. 351(9099):356-361
To assess the impact of antivaccine movements that targeted pertussis whole-cell vaccines, the researchers compared pertussis incidence in countries where high coverage with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines (DTP) was maintained with countries where immunization was disrupted by antivaccine movements. Pertussis incidence was 10 to 100 times lower in countries where high vaccine coverage was maintained than in countries where immunization programs were compromised by antivaccine movements.

Maintaining public trust in vaccines: Are we victims of our own success? (1999)
Rosenthal M. Infectious Diseases in Children
This interview with Dr. Gellin, head of the National Network for Immunization Information, cautions us not to "use outbreaks as a way of reminding ourselves about the importance of immunization."

Media misled the public over the MMR vaccine, study says (2003)
Dobson R. British Medical Journal
From the article: "At the height of the media coverage the impression was created that medical scientists were split down the middle over the vaccine’s safety, including reports of links with autism, say the study’s authors, from Cardiff University. "Although almost all scientific experts rejected the claim of a link between MMR and autism, 53% of those [the people] surveyed at the height of the media coverage of the issues assumed that because both sides of the debate received equal media coverage, there must be equal evidence for each. Only 23% of the population were aware that the bulk of evidence favoured supporters of the vaccine."

Policy reaction to thimerosal in vaccines (2001)
Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, University of Michigan Medical Center & Duke University Medical Center
This study compares the differences in US and European responses to concerns about mercury exposure from thimerisol in vaccines.

Thimerosal in vaccines (2008)
US Food and Drug Administration
This page contains information on thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative that has been used in vaccines. The page also includes links to other resources on thimerosal and vaccines.

Thimerosal in vaccines: questions and answers (2001)
WHO
This WHO link provides answers to 20 common questions about thimerosal.

Vaccine myths (2003)
Offit P, Bell L.
Reprinted from the book Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know.

Vaccine safety
Immunization Action Coalition
Many links related to this important topic.

Vaccine safety and efficacy issues - testimony to Congress (1999)
Halsey N.
The US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform asked Dr. Halsey, Director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University, to comment on three issues: the number of vaccines children receive, combination vaccines, and diabetes. His five page response is extremely well-reasoned and useful.

Vaccines and autism theory
CDC
A collection of links to research and information on concerns about a link between childhood vaccinations, mercury, and autism.

Vaccines: An issue of trust—Misinformation and government foot-dragging are fanning fears (2001)
Consumer Reports
This article discusses the vaccine safety system, looks at arguments made by anti-vaccination activists, and suggests ways for all consumers to better understand and benefit from immunization.