US study says multiple infant vaccines safe

CHICAGO, JANUARY 7: A report published in Janaury’s issue of ‘‘Pediatrics,’’ the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics says that children, who receive as many as 11 vaccinations routinely, are not in danger of having their immune system overwhelmed.

‘‘Current studies do not support the hypothesis that multiple vaccines overwhelm, weaken, or ‘use up’ the immune system,’’ said the report from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and several other institutions.

‘‘By providing protection against a number of bacterial and viral pathogens, vaccines prevent the ‘weakening’ of the immune system and consequent secondary bacterial infections occasionally caused by natural infection,’’ it added. The authors said that they had investigated the subject because recent surveys in the US indicated that about a quarter of all parents were concerned about the possible negative impacts of multiple vaccinations.

‘‘Parents may take comfort in knowing that children are exposed to fewer antigens (proteins and polysaccharides) in vaccines today than in the past, although we now give them more vaccines, the actual number of antigens has declined. Whereas previously one vaccine, smallpox, contained about 200 proteins, now the 11 routinely recommended vaccines contain fewer than 130 proteins in total,’’ it added. (Reuters)