Pediatricians are deeply concerned about growing misinformation regarding vaccines that prevent common childhood illnesses—content that spreads rapidly across social media platforms and has even found support among some high-level government officials.
Their concern is well-founded, as vaccines have consistently proven their life-saving value through rigorous scientific research. The evidence is compelling: In 2024 CDC researchers found that among about 117 million children born during this period, routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented some 508 million cases of illness through the children’s lifetimes, 32 million hospitalizations, and about 1.13 million deaths. The cumulative number of illnesses prevented in the study ranged from about 5,000 cases for tetanus to around 100 million for measles and varicella. This positive effect is even more impressive in poor countries, where vaccination is perhaps the most cost effective and impactful advancement ever achieved in the field of medicine.
Included in the analysis were vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or DTaP; Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib; poliovirus; measles, mumps and rubella; hepatitis B; varicella; hepatitis A; pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus. It’s been said that vaccines have been so effective at reducing these now rare diseases in the U.S. that they have “put themselves out of business:” Thanks to vaccines, we no longer see most of these illnesses, giving the public a false sense of security and belief vaccines are no longer so important.
Pediatricians confront vaccine skepticism daily with patience and evidence-based information. “Medical professionals are increasingly concerned about the rejection of established science,” explains Dr. Andrew Swiderski, a pediatrician at Open Door Family Medical Center in Ossining. “Many parents encounter misleading information about vaccines online—often in forums or fancy websites with emotional appeals rather than scientific evidence—and use this to justify their vaccine refusal. He notes that common misconceptions include beliefs that vaccines cause autism (disproven through numerous studies) or that they overwhelm children’s immune systems (and thus should be given one at a time.) “The challenge,” Dr. Swiderski acknowledges, “is that once someone becomes firmly convinced of vaccine risks despite scientific evidence, meaningful dialogue becomes extremely difficult.”
These concerns have real public health consequences. Dr. Swiderski and fellow health care providers face a growing risk that vaccination rates could drop below the crucial 95 percent level needed to confer “herd immunity” and thus prevent disease outbreaks. This isn’t just a theoretical worry—recent measles outbreaks in Texas directly resulted from areas with low immunization rates. A similar epidemic struck nearby Rockland County in 2019, and Dr. Swiderski warns that current compliance rates in certain Westchester County communities have already fallen to levels far below the 95% threshold.
In New York State, all children enrolling in public school must provide proof of vaccination completion. The state no longer permits religious or philosophical exemptions, with medical exemptions limited to rare, specific conditions—a policy designed to maintain high vaccination rates.
“Some parents tell me they’ll delay vaccinations until just before school entry,” Dr. Swiderski explains. “What concerns health care providers is that these preventable diseases pose their greatest threat during infancy, which is precisely why the vaccine schedule, starting from birth, is designed to protect children when they’re most vulnerable.”
“The challenge we face in health care today is helping families navigate the overwhelming amount of information they encounter online,” he notes. “Parents who are uncertain about vaccines are often open to evidence-based discussion. Those with deeply entrenched views present a greater challenge, but we continue working to find common ground that protects both their children and the broader community. As with the early days of the AIDS and COVID19 epidemics, early skepticism finally led to public action once the toll of suffering became too great to ignore. Hopefully, we won’t need a surge in vaccine-preventable diseases to rekindle the public’s support for vaccinations.”
