Vaccination: answers to common questions
Vaccination remains one of the most successful and effective interventions to prevent diseases worldwide, saving millions of lives each year.1 It is important that parents and care givers are informed about vaccination and are confident to ask questions.
Answers to common issues raised by parents are provided in this fact sheet, alternatively the Australian Government Department of Health has an online booklet titled Questions about vaccination.
When should my child be vaccinated?
Vaccinations are due at birth, 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months, and again at 4 years.
Preterm babies should follow the same schedule from birth, provided they are medically stable and there are no contraindications to vaccination. Additional vaccinations are recommended for some children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and children with certain medical conditions.2
Find more information: Who should get vaccinated and when | Vaccination Matters (initiatives.qld.gov.au)
Are vaccines safe?
While no medicine, including vaccines, can be considered 100% safe, all vaccines currently available in Australia must pass several years of strict safety testing before being approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This includes testing of all components, including preservatives and additives. Once in use, vaccines are further monitored by the TGA to ensure their ongoing safety.3
Some vaccines contain substances such as egg or yeast that some people are allergic to. Talk to your vaccine provider if you have any concern about your child having an allergic reaction.
Find more information:
- The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers
- Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation website
- National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance
Isn't a healthy lifestyle enough to protect us from disease?
Unfortunately, having a healthy lifestyle and good hygiene is not enough to protect your family from disease.4 Even though Queenslanders have a reputation for enjoying a healthy lifestyle which does contribute to many health benefits, there are still many cases of vaccine preventable diseases, such as whooping cough and tetanus, occurring each year.
Why do we have to vaccinate for diseases which are now so rare?
While diseases may be rare in Australia, the ease of global travel means that serious diseases can be imported here by people coming from other countries.
It is still extremely important that children continue to be vaccinated as even slight decreases in the number of immunised children could result in major epidemics of vaccine preventable diseases in people who aren't immune. An example was seen in 2009 when there was an outbreak of measles in South-East Queensland in a community which is known to have lower than average immunisation rates.
Measles
Measles is a highly infectious viral illness, which can cause serious disease. Measles is now uncommon in Australia because of high levels of immunisation. Often, outbreaks happen when the virus is brought into Australia by unimmunised people who have travelled overseas. In 2021, there were an estimated 9 million cases and 128 000 deaths from measles worldwide.5
Measles combination vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program for children aged 12 months and 18 months. These vaccinations cover measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox. If your child has had 2 measles vaccinations, the chance of them contracting measles is very low. However, people who are not immunised have a 90% chance of becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus.
Find more information: MMRV vaccine decision aid | NCIRS
Polio
In 2000, Australia was certified as polio free by the World Health Organization. However, until polio is eradicated from the rest of the world, it is still important for Australia to maintain high vaccination rates as there is an ongoing risk of polio being imported from other countries.6
Polio combination vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program for children aged 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 4 years.
Will vaccinations overload my child's immune system?
Some parents worry that giving their child multiple vaccinations at one time can 'overload' the immune system. However, research shows that a healthy young infant has the capacity to respond to far more vaccines than a child would ever get at any one time.7 With the refinement of vaccines, infants now receive far fewer active ingredients in their vaccines than they did decades ago, even though the number of vaccinations has increased to protect against more diseases.7
Find more information:
Why do children get so many vaccines in the first 2 years? Sharing Knowledge about Immunisation
Isn't my baby too young to cope with all these vaccines?
The timing and spacing of vaccine doses are two of the most important factors in the effective use of vaccines. After birth, the antibodies passed on to the baby from the mother start to wear off, placing the baby at risk of serious disease.1 The schedule is carefully planned to protect babies and children as soon as it is possible.
It is important to vaccinate them according to the recommended schedule rather than splitting or delaying vaccines. If you choose to space out the vaccines, it means your child is left unprotected for longer, and will need to have more vaccination appointments. Researchers have found that visiting the doctor for one needle is just as stressful for children as visiting the doctor for two needles at once.7, 8
Find more information: Why is the schedule the way it is? Sharing Knowledge about Immunisation
Is there a link between vaccination and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?
Multiple research studies and safety reviews of children worldwide show no links between vaccination and SIDS (or cot death). In fact, there is strong evidence to show that immunised babies are actually at a lower risk of SIDS.10
SIDS and Kids Australia, recommends that 'all babies receive the normal program of immunisations at the scheduled ages, both in infancy and beyond'.9
Find more information: Immunisation-Safe_Sleeping-Information_Statement_Nov_2017_WEB.pdf (rednose.org.au)
Do vaccines contain mercury?
Since 2000, all vaccines used in Queensland's childhood immunisation program have not contained thiomersal (a compound containing mercury which was used as a preservative in some vaccines in very small amounts). While there is no scientific evidence that the small amounts of thiomersal used in vaccine caused any harmful effects in children or adults,11 the compound has been removed as a precaution.
Find more information: Safety Thimerosal fact sheet September 2019.pdf (ncirs.org.au)
Is there a link between autism and the MMR vaccine?
No, there is no connection between vaccines and autism.
Many large studies have proven there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, including reviews by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The British Chief Medical Officer, the UK Medical Research Council, Canadian experts, and numerous other scientific experts.12 While autism may seem more common in recent years, this is due to increased diagnosis stemming from greater awareness about the condition. Research also indicates there is no difference in the rates of autism between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.12
Find more information:
Are alternative therapies effective?
No. Only conventional immunisation produces a measurable immune response and protection against disease. Alternative therapies such as homeopathic methods or chiropractic principles have not been proven to give protection against infectious diseases. They have not undergone thorough scientific testing and their use among practitioners varies widely.14
Both the British Homeopathic Association and the Australian Register of Homoeopaths recommend that people should receive conventional immunisation and that homoeopathic preparations “should not be recommended as a substitute for conventional immunisation".14
Find more information: Homeopathy and vaccination | NCIRS Fact sheet
To find out more about immunisation:
- visit Immunisation (Queensland Government)
- visit Immunisation (Federal Government)
- talk to your doctor or immunisation provider
- call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84)
Information in your language
You can find information about vaccination in your language on the Queensland Government website.
References
- Australian Government Department of Health 2018, Questions about Vaccination. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/04/questions-about-vaccination.pdf
- Queensland Government, Vaccination Matters 2023, Who should get vaccinated and when.
https://www.vaccinate.initiatives.qld.gov.au/who-should-get-vaccinated-and-when - Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 2023, Are vaccines safe?
https://www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/about-immunisation/vaccine-safety - Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 2023, When to get vaccinated. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/when-to-get-vaccinated
- World Health Organization; Health Topics 2022, Measles media release.
https://www.who.int/news/item/23-11-2022-nearly-40-million-children-are-dangerously-susceptible-to-growing-measles-threat - Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 2023, Polio (poliomyelitis) vaccine. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/immunisation/immunisation-services/polio-poliomyelitis-immunisation-service-0
- National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Sharing Knowledge about Immunisation, Why do children get so many vaccines in the first two years?
https://skai.org.au/childhood/questions/why-schedule-way-it#section2 - National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Sharing Knowledge about Immunisation, Why is the schedule the way it is?
https://skai.org.au/childhood/questions/why-schedule-way-it - Red Nose Australia 2022, MYTH BUST: childhood immunisation and SIDS.
https://rednose.org.au/news/myth-bust-vaccinations-do-not-cause-sids - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SIDS and Vaccines; Vaccine Safety. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/sids.html#rel
- National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance. 2009,'Thiomersal fact sheet'.
http://www.ncirs.edu.au/provider-resources/ncirs-fact-sheets/ - Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia 2022, Vaccines and autism.
https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccines-and-other-conditions/vaccines-autism - Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, et al. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism. N Engl J Med 2002;347(19):1477-1482.
- National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Homeopathy and Vaccination Factsheet 2018.
https://ncirs.org.au/ncirs-fact-sheets-faqs/homeopathy-and-vaccination