Vaccine safety
Safety is one of the most important factors in the development of a vaccine and is the priority of the clinical development process. Vaccines are not a "one size fits all" mechanism, which is why vaccine research, development, and use contain a wide array of checks for safety. Even after a vaccine has been licensed and is in use, monitoring continues in order to ensure that safety information reflects any new information gathered after the product has been licensed.
View resources on vaccine safety
Key resources
Addressing the Vaccine Confidence Gap (2011)
An article that presents some of the factors contributing to increased public questioning of vaccines and outlines some of the specific determinants of public trust.
Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality (2011)
A report that provides an analysis of more than 1,000 research articles that were reviewed to assess the risk of specific adverse events associated with eight vaccines.
No Vaccine for the Scaremongers (2008)
An article that discusses anxieties over safety of vaccines and the damage these worries could have on immunization programs.
Featured PATH resources
The Road to Safe and Effective Vaccines (2009)
A fact sheet on
the development of new vaccines through clinical trials and their role in providing safe and effective vaccines.
Childhood Immunization: What You Need to Know (2004)
A handbook for parents and health care workers about diseases and vaccines, including extensive questions and answers, and charts comparing disease risk versus vaccine risk.
Page last updated: October 2011.
