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Vaccination easily helps protect your body against harmful and even deadly diseases before you even come into contact with them. Vaccines use your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections and strengthens your immune system. When vaccines are injected into your body, these train your immune system to create antibodies, just as it does when it’s exposed to a disease. Vaccines contain only killed or weakened forms of viruses or bacteria, meaning they do not cause the disease itself or put you at risk of its complications.

Vaccines reduce your chances of getting infected by a disease. They build protection using your body’s natural defenses. When you receive a vaccine, your body responds to it through recognizing the invading germ, such as the virus or bacteria, and produces antibodies for the disease. Your body also remembers the disease and trains to fight it. In case you are exposed to the disease in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you get sick. Once exposed to one or more doses of a vaccine, we typically remain protected against a disease for years, decades or even a lifetime.

Vaccines protect us through different life stages. Depending on your age, there are vaccines that are recommended that you take. You can find out which vaccines or booster doses you or your child are due for through your vaccination card or by asking your local health provider. It is important to ensure that you or your child are up to date with vaccines. It is important to act fast. If we wait until we think we may be exposed to a serious illness, such as during an outbreak, there may not be enough time for the vaccine to work. If you have missed any recommended vaccinations for you or your child, talk to your healthcare provider immediately on how to catch up.

Childhood vaccines alone save over 4 million lives every year. Although some diseases may have become uncommon, the germs that cause them continue to circulate in some or all parts of the world. Without vaccines, we are at risk of serious illness and disability from life-threatening diseases like measles, meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus and polio. In today’s world, infectious diseases can easily cross borders, and infect anyone who is not protected Two key reasons to get vaccinated are to protect ourselves and to protect those around us. Because not everyone can be vaccinated – including very young babies, those who are seriously ill or have certain allergies – they depend on others being vaccinated to ensure they are also safe from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Vaccines protect against many different diseases. These include: Cervical cancer Cholera COVID-19 Diphtheria Ebola virus disease Hepatitis B Influenza Japanese encephalitis Measles Meningitis Mumps Pertussis Pneumonia Polio Rabies Rotavirus Rubella Tetanus Typhoid Varicella Yellow fever Required vaccinations vary per country and even based on your travel activity and occupation. Talk to your healthcare provider to find out what vaccinations are needed for you and your family.

While most people should get their vaccines, people with certain medical conditions may not receive certain vaccines, or should wait before getting them. These can include: Those with chronic illnesses or treatments (like chemotherapy) that affect the immune system; Severe and life-threatening allergies to vaccine ingredients, which are very rare; Severe illness and a high fever on the day of vaccination.

All the ingredients of a vaccine play an important role in ensuring a vaccine is safe and effective. While the components of the vaccine may be intimidating, many of the components used in vaccines occur naturally in the body, in the environment, in the foods we eat, and have been tested by experts to ensure they are safe.

Vaccination is safe and side effects from a vaccine are usually minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever. More serious side effects are possible, but extremely rare. You are more likely to get sick from a vaccine-preventable disease than by a vaccine. Many vaccine-preventable diseases can even result in death. The benefits of vaccination greatly outweigh the risks, and many more illnesses and deaths would occur without vaccines.

Like any medicine, vaccines can cause mild side effects, such as a low-grade fever, or pain or redness at the injection site. Mild reactions go away within a few days on their own. While possible, severe or long-lasting side effects are extremely rare. Experts and health professionals continue to monitor vaccines are continually monitored for safety to detect and prevent rare adverse reactions.

Scientific evidence shows that giving several vaccines at the same time has no negative effect. Children are exposed to several hundred foreign substances that trigger an immune response every day — such as when they are playing outdoors, or even eating food. When a combined vaccination is offered (e.g. for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus), this means your child can receive fewer injections and feel less discomfort. It also means that your child is getting the right vaccine at the right time, avoiding the risk of contracting a harmful disease.

There is no evidence of any link between vaccines and autism or autistic disorders. This has been demonstrated in many studies across very large populations around the world.

Virtually all cervical cancer cases start with a sexually transmitted HPV infection. If given before exposure to the virus, vaccination offers the best protection against this disease. Following vaccination, reductions of up to 90% in HPV infections in teenage girls and young women have been demonstrated by studies conducted in Australia, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In studies, the HPV vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective. WHO recommends that all girls aged 9–14 years receive 2 doses of the vaccine, alongside cervical cancer screening later in life.

If you have questions about vaccines be sure to talk to your healthcare worker. He or she can provide you with science-based advice about vaccination for you and your family, including the recommended vaccination schedule in your country. When looking online for information about vaccines, be sure to consult only trustworthy sources. To help you find them, WHO has reviewed and ‘certified’ many websites across the world that provide only information based on reliable scientific evidence and independent reviews by leading technical experts. These websites are all members of the Vaccine Safety Net.