I've been getting a lot of questions about childhood vaccinations lately, so I decided to talk a little about my stance on vaccinations. I have always stated to my patients that it is their decision to weigh the risks of vaccination vs not vaccinating. Both decisions have risks. When we talk about the risks of vaccination, the water gets a little muddy. There is circumstantial evidence that vaccinations may trigger autism, but to date there have been no good studies to prove so. To look at good hard evidence on the risks of vaccinations, we must look to the the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which was put in place in 1990 to track adverse reactions to vaccinations. Since VAERS was put in place, there have been 2828 deaths attributed to children under the age of 5, which equates to about 141 deaths per year or around 1 death for every 100,000 children. This is a very small number statistically, but it is something to be aware of when choosing to vaccinate your child.

On the other hand, there are risks to not vaccinating your child also. For instance, we saw a high rate of pertussis (whooping cough) in the U.S. in 2010, which accounted for 26 deaths or 1 death for every 1,000 people who contracted pertussis. This is still a very small number, but when weighing the pros and cons of vaccinations, we need to understand the risks.

Here are statistics on some of the childhood diseases that vaccinations are given for:

• Measles: in 2008 there were 131 cases documented, no deaths, and 15 hospitalizations

• Mumps: in 2006 there were 6404 cases documented and 15 deaths

• Rubella (German Measles): cases are rarely seen, however there was an outbreak in NE Ohio a couple years ago. In children, the disease is a mild, self-limiting rash. The problem comes if pregnant mothers contract the virus, which can be dangerous to the fetus.

• Diphtheria: extremely rare in the U.S., but the death rate for children contracting this bacterial infection, there is a 5% to 10% death rate.

• Tetanus: there are approximately 50 to 100 cases seen in the U.S. Per year. Without vaccination, there is a 20% death rate, however vaccination can be administered after a puncture wound has occurred to protect the person.

• Polio; extremely rare in the U.S. and 90% of those infected show no symptoms and about 1% have serious neurological problems after infection.