Vaccines can cause side effects, like any other medicine. Mostly these are mild "local" reactions such as tenderness, redness or swelling where the shot is given, or a mild fever. They happen in up to 1 child out of 4 with most childhood vaccines. They appear soon after the shot is given and go away within a day or two.
More severe reactions can also occur, but this happens much less often. Some of these reactions are so uncommon that experts can't tell whether they are caused by the vaccine or not.
Among the most serious reactions to vaccines are severe allergic reactions to a substance in a vaccine. These reactions happen very rarely-less than once in a million shots. They usually happen very soon after the shot is given. Doctor's office or clinic staff are trained to deal with them.
The risk of any vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small. Getting a disease is much more likely to harms a child than getting a vaccine.
Other Reactions:
Dtap vaccine -
Mild problems - Fussiness ( 1 in 3), tiredness or poor appetite (1 in 10); vomiting (1 in 50); swelling at the site for 1 to 7 days (1 in 30)-usually after the 4th or 5th dose.
Moderate problems - Seizure (1 in 14,000); non-stop crying for 3 hours or more (up to 1 in 1,000); fever over 105 degrees F (1 in 16,000).
Serious problems - Long term seizures, coma, lowered consciousness, and permanent brain damaged have been reported very rarely after Dtap vaccine. They are so rare we can't be sure they are caused from the vaccine.
Polio vaccine / Hepatitis B vaccine / Hib vaccine -
These vaccines have not been associated with mild problems other than local reactions, or with moderate or serious problems.
Pneumococcal vaccine -
Mild problems - During studies of the vaccine, some children became fussy or drowsy or lost their appetite.
Rotavirus vaccine -
Mild problems - Children who get rotavirus vaccine are slightly more likely than other children to have mild, temporary diarrhea or vomiting. This happens within the first week after getting a dose of vaccine. No moderate or serious problems have been associated with the vaccine.
Precautions:
If your child is sick on the date vaccinations are schedule, your provider may want to put them off until she recovers. A child with a mild cold or a low fever can usually be vaccinated that day. But for a more serious illness, it may be better to wait.
Some children should not get certain vaccines. Talk with your provider if your child had a serious reaction after a previous dose of a vaccine, or has any life-threatening allergies. (These reactions and allergies are rare.)
Talk to your provider before getting Dtap vaccine if your child had any of these reactions to a previous dose of DTaP:
a brain or nervous system disease within 7 days
non-stop crying for 3 or more hours
a seizure or collapse
a fever over 105 degrees F
Talk to you provider before getting Polio vaccine if your child had any of these reactions to a previous dose of Polio:
a life-threatening allergy to the antibiotics neomycin, streptomycin, or polymyxin B
Talk to you provider before getting Hepatitis B vaccine if your child had any of these reactions to a previous dose of Hepatitis B:
a life-threatening allergy to yeast
Talk to you provider before getting Rotavirus vaccine if your child had any of these reactions to a previous dose of Rotavirus:
a weakened immune system
ongoing digestive problems
recently gotten a blood transfusion or other blood product
ever had intussusception (an uncommon type of intestinal obstruction)
**For more information about vaccines, ask your healthcare provider, contact your local or state health department or contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at 1-800-232-4636. You can also visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.
**The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a federal program to help pay for the care of anyone who has a serious reaction to a vaccine. Contact number is 1-800-338-2382 or their website at www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation.