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Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Special Article

Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?

Paul A. Offit, Jessica Quarles, Michael A. Gerber, Charles J. Hackett, Edgar K. Marcuse, Tobias R. Kollman, Bruce G. Gellin and Sarah Landry
Pediatrics January 2002, 109 (1) 124-129; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.109.1.124
Paul A. Offit
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Jessica Quarles
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Michael A. Gerber
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Charles J. Hackett
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Edgar K. Marcuse
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Tobias R. Kollman
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Bruce G. Gellin
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Sarah Landry
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Abstract

Recent surveys found that an increasing number of parents are concerned that infants receive too many vaccines. Implicit in this concern is that the infant’s immune system is inadequately developed to handle vaccines safely or that multiple vaccines may overwhelm the immune system. In this review, we will examine the following: 1) the ontogeny of the active immune response and the ability of neonates and young infants to respond to vaccines; 2) the theoretic capacity of an infant’s immune system; 3) data that demonstrate that mild or moderate illness does not interfere with an infant’s ability to generate protective immune responses to vaccines; 4) how infants respond to vaccines given in combination compared with the same vaccines given separately; 5) data showing that vaccinated children are not more likely to develop infections with other pathogens than unvaccinated children; and 6) the fact that infants actually encounter fewer antigens in vaccines today than they did 40 or 100 years ago.

  • multiple vaccines
  • immunity
  • parental concerns
  • Received August 7, 2001.
  • Accepted October 4, 2001.
  • Copyright © 2002 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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Pediatrics
Vol. 109, Issue 1
1 Jan 2002
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Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?
Paul A. Offit, Jessica Quarles, Michael A. Gerber, Charles J. Hackett, Edgar K. Marcuse, Tobias R. Kollman, Bruce G. Gellin, Sarah Landry
Pediatrics Jan 2002, 109 (1) 124-129; DOI: 10.1542/peds.109.1.124

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Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant’s Immune System?
Paul A. Offit, Jessica Quarles, Michael A. Gerber, Charles J. Hackett, Edgar K. Marcuse, Tobias R. Kollman, Bruce G. Gellin, Sarah Landry
Pediatrics Jan 2002, 109 (1) 124-129; DOI: 10.1542/peds.109.1.124
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • A BRIEF SUMMARY OF NEONATAL AND INFANT IMMUNE RESPONSES
    • IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VACCINES BY NEONATES
    • IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VACCINES BY INFANTS
    • IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VACCINES BY CHILDREN WITH IMMUNODEFICIENCIES
    • IMMUNE RESPONSE TO VACCINES BY CHILDREN WITH MILD, MODERATE, OR SEVERE ILLNESSES
    • DO VACCINES “OVERWHELM” THE IMMUNE SYSTEM?
    • DO VACCINES “WEAKEN” THE IMMUNE SYSTEM?
    • SUMMARY
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