Infant vaccine misinformation spreads online, experts urge informed decisions

In an era where misinformation can spread rapidly online, parents are often left grappling with conflicting advice about their children’s health, particularly regarding vaccinations.

A recent viral social media post has sparked concern by comparing the number of immunizations required in the first year of life in 1986 to the present day. However, experts warn that the post contains inaccuracies.

Dr. Robert Hopkins, the medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, emphasized the importance of distinguishing fact from fiction. “Our vaccines are not perfect, but the risk from those vaccines, from anyone or from the combination of all of those vaccines, is far less than the risk of getting those diseases,” said Hopkins.

Dr. Hopkins examined the social media post and mentioned the following corrections that needed to be made. He said in the 1986 column, MMR (12 months) needs to be added to the list.

For 2025, he said that these vaccines listed as ‘in utero’ are recommended for pregnant women to protect the woman and her infant from these diseases until the infant immune system is mature enough to develop protection from vaccinating her infant [includes Tdap, Flu, COVID-19]. He also added RSV vaccine may be given to mother late in pregnancy or a long-acting antibody can be given to the infant shortly after birth to protect the infant from severe RSV disease.

According to Dr. Hopkins, Hep B (in utero) needs to be removed from the 2025 list. He said while this may be given if mother is not immune, this is not routine. COVID-19 (9 months) is recommended only if the Pfizer vaccine is used [if Moderna is used, only 2 doses are needed]. PCV is given at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months and can be one of 2 vaccine products- PCV15 or PCV20 [the chart lists PCV15 for 2-6 months].

“Note that many or most of these vaccines are given as combination vaccines in practice, so there are far less ‘shots’ or ‘needle sticks’ required to provide immunity to infants for these many diseases. There are several combination vaccines which include DTaP + IPV and may also contain HepB and/or HiB,” said Dr. Hopkins.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination rates among children continue to decline. Dr. Hopkins explained that while the number of diseases children are vaccinated against has increased to nearly 20, the immune stimulation from vaccines has decreased significantly. “We give only about 320 what we call antigens,” he said, noting that in the 1980s, children received over 15,000 antigens during their vaccination schedule.

Addressing concerns about overstimulation of a child’s immune system, Hopkins clarified that an average child is exposed to between 2,000 to 6,000 antigens daily. “When I look at what we could do in the eighties and I look at what we can do now, we are protecting from so many more diseases,” he said.

Dr. Hopkins encourages parents and guardians to engage in informed discussions about their child’s health to ensure the safety of children and communities. He also noted that while every vaccine carries some risk, it is much smaller compared to many medications, including over-the-counter products like Tylenol or ibuprofen.