Study: Babies Who Are Vaccinated Are Not More Likely To Pick Up Other Illnesses

SALT LAKE CITY – Knocking down a myth in the new parent world, a new study says babies who go through the full range of vaccinations are not more likely to get sick from other diseases.

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It’s a concern the Utah health department has heard before. Immunization program manager, Rich Lakin,said new parents are asked to vaccinate their babies about 10 ten times for 14 different disease. He said it can seem like a lot of needles and he’s heard from parents who are worried the vaccines will hurt their children’s immunity to other illnesses.

“We still get those myths all the time,” he said, specifically referencing the vaccines-cause-autism theory that Lakin said has been disproved several times.

He said the reason they ask for these vaccines so early is because it’s the perfect time to train and flex children’s immune systems.

“The immune system in a child is amazing,” Lakin said. “If you get a vaccination and a month later get another one, it’s like a booster. A booster for your immune system.”

A new study, published in the the Journal of the American Medical Association, found the same results. The study authors argue that out of nearly 1,000 children they studied, the ones who receive the scheduled vaccinations weren’t any more likely to get sick from other diseases or viruses after their treatments.