
Giving Compass' Take:
- Experts at the RAND Corporation discuss how researchers systematically reviewed relevant vaccine safety research and found no evidence of increased risk for adverse events.
- How can this research inform policy around vaccination? What can you do to fight vaccine disinformation?
- Read more about COVID-19 vaccine safety for adolescents.
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A new study looking across a large body of research finds further evidence for the safety of vaccines that are Food and Drug Administration–approved and routinely recommended for children, adults, and pregnant women. The study updates a vaccine safety review that was released by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2014.
“This in-depth analysis found no evidence of increased risk of serious adverse events following vaccines, apart from a few—previously known—associations,” said Susanne Hempel, director of the Southern California Evidence Review Center.
The meta-analysis, published in the journal Vaccine, does not address the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, but summarizes the results of 338 studies of other vaccines commonly given across the lifespan.
“These findings support decisions to vaccinate to protect ourselves and our communities from a variety of diseases,” said Dr. Courtney Gidengil, the study's lead author and a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. “This research is an important reminder that vaccines are safe and any risk they may pose is far outweighed by their ability to protect against diseases.”
The study included reviews of vaccines for diseases such as influenza, measles, mumps, shingles, whooping cough, tetanus, and human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated cancers. While vaccination rates for children remain high, rates for adults and pregnant women consistently lag.
Read the full article about vaccine safety research at the RAND Corporation.