UB pediatric pharmacist explains facts behind childhood vaccines

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Childhood vaccines developed in the 20^th century have saved more than 154 million lives, according to a 2024 study led by the World Health Organization. It points to immunization as the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but also lead healthy lives into adulthood.

Over the past few decades, however, some parents and others have questioned the need for and the safety of childhood vaccines. And this skepticism has only grown stronger in recent years. Between the current U.S. administration’s revised childhood vaccine recommendations, misinformation spread through social media, and the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.

We sat down with William Prescott, PharmD, chair and clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to discuss the importance of childhood vaccines. Prescott is a pediatric pharmacist with expertise in vaccinations and vaccine hesitancy.

What would you most like parents to know about childhood vaccines as they navigate conflicting information?

When you read or hear something about vaccines that concerns you, be it on the news or on social media, don’t hesitate to seek the opinion of a health professional you trust. Even when reports are based on published work, the quality of research is sometimes underwhelming which, when taken at face value, can lead to misinterpretation. That’s why we’re here—to help our patients make informed decisions about their medical care, including vaccination.

Bottom line: Parents want what is best for their kids. Our kids are at risk for the diseases that vaccines prevent. These diseases are serious, and vaccines have a proven record of being both safe and effective. Vaccines save lives, period. They might save your kid’s life.

Some parents have requested schedules that space out the vaccines that their infants and young children receive. This differs from the vaccine schedules recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. What are your thoughts on staggering vaccines? 

Staggering vaccines is a bad idea. Whenever you delay vaccination, you increase the time that children are susceptible to serious diseases, diseases that can cause hospitalization, long-term complications and even death.

Parents may be concerned that giving multiple vaccines at once will overload their child’s immune system, but this claim is unfounded. The antigens, or remnants of the disease-causing particle that are recognized by the immune system, which make up vaccines, constitute a small fraction of what our bodies naturally encounter every day. Interestingly, even though children today receive more vaccines than children in the ‘80s and ‘90s did, the antigenic load is less because of changes that have been made to vaccines to improve their safety.

What would you say to a parent who fears that vaccines cause autism?

The supposed connection between vaccines, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) in particular, and autism spectrum disorder, have affected vaccine acceptance for decades. This dates to a small, fabricated study published in 1998 that was later retracted, with the author stripped of his credentials. Fast forward to 2025 and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services cited an article published in a pseudoscience journal by previously discredited researchers that made similar claims. These are good examples of how disinformation can negatively impact public health.

If a parent is open to having a conversation, I would express understanding of their perspective and convey to them that there have been many well-designed studies published in highly reputable journals that have disproven a correlation between autism and vaccines, and that all medical societies support that vaccines do not cause autism. Knowing this, I vaccinated my kids. Many parents are not going to change their minds after one conversation, so patience is key.

Will declining vaccination rates lead to a decline in herd immunity?

There is no question that declining vaccination rates will lessen herd immunity. This puts people at risk—infants who are too young to be vaccinated, those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons, and those with compromised immune systems.

Sometimes we forget about how common and serious vaccine preventable diseases were before we had effective vaccines. Most vaccine-preventable diseases are still endemic to the U.S. Even those infections that are not endemic, such as measles and polio, are just a plane ride away. We see this every year with measles, which easily infiltrates communities with low vaccination rates. The latest data indicate that the last five kindergarten cohorts had less than a 95% vaccination rate against measles, below the herd immunity threshold. This should concern us immensely.

How likely are we to see the return of serious childhood illnesses, which were almost eliminated globally due to vaccines? 

Considering the path we are on, I’d say it’s more likely than not, if not imminent. If vaccination rates continue to decline, and all signs indicate that this is what will happen, we’ll see surges in vaccine-preventable disease rates, especially with highly infectious pathogens such as measles and pertussis (whooping cough).

Most concerning is breaking news from Florida, where its surgeon general announced plans to end all vaccine mandates. This decision will, without question, negatively impact public health, especially if other states follow suit. I anticipate these will first present as outbreaks within communities with low vaccination rates, but if herd immunity is inadequate, widespread outbreaks will occur. Diseases that were once eradicated from our country could become endemic once again.

Furthermore, if the nation’s public health system is defunded, it will be difficult to identify and respond to outbreaks in a timely way. In the end, children will die from these preventable diseases, which is just tragic.

How can pediatricians and pharmacists work together to ensure more children receive the vaccines they need?

Educating parents on the importance of vaccination is a shared responsibility among all health professionals, including physicians and pharmacists. When we work together to dispel the myths and misconceptions about vaccines and stress the relevance and seriousness of vaccine-preventable diseases, it not only increases the number of times parents hear this message but also builds much needed trust in the health care system.