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[January 23, 2002]


Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm or Weaken the Infant�s Immune System?

Many parents worry that the vaccines their child receives may overload his or her immune system.� But a new study � published in the January 2002 issue of Pediatrics -- found that today�s children are actually exposed to fewer antigens (the substances that produce an immune response) in vaccines than ever before. Why?� Advances in chemistry mean that today�s vaccines use fewer antigens, and, in addition, children no longer receive smallpox vaccine.� Smallpox itself contained more antigens (200) than are in all 11 of today�s recommended vaccines (about 125).� Based on the immune systems capacity to respond, scientists estimate that a child could get 10,000 vaccines in one day and still not �use up� his or her immune response.

See�the full Pediatrics article.
 
     
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