Vaccines undergo rigorous testing and continuous monitoring to ensure safety. Side effects are usually mild and temporary, such as soreness or low fever. Serious reactions are extremely rare.

Recently, there has been misinformation on social media (and elsewhere) that vaccines do not undergo placebo controlled double blinded studies, but that is simply not true.  And to do so at this time would be unethical to give a child placebo when we have the data that the vaccines are both incredibly safe and incredibly effective.

Common side effects include mild swelling, redness at the injection site, or slight fever. These symptoms typically resolve within a few days and indicate the immune system is responding.  

Live attenuated vaccines (very very weak version of the illness) such as varicella, MMR, and rotavirus can cause longer symptoms.  

Very rarely, serious side effects such as seizures or serious illness can occur, but the risks of these issues are MUCH HIGHER with getting the illness rather than the vaccine.

Vaccines contain weakened or inactive parts of germs that cannot cause the disease. They stimulate the immune system to build protection without causing illness.  This includes the flu vaccine!  So many people insist they get the flu from the flu vaccine but biologically, that cannot occur.  You can feel under the weather for a day or so after, but most people tolerate them well.

The COVID vaccine is recommended for children ages 6 months and up. While most children tend to have mild illness, the vaccine is safe and can reduce the risk of severe illness and long COVID.  

While there was a concern for increased risk of myocarditis in teen males after the vaccine, this study: https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r2330

 showed that the risk is actually much higher with gettin COVID illness rather than with the vaccine.  

No vaccine is 100% effective.  Variable immune responses in individuals makes it challenging to get to 100% - some people are non-responders, some immunity to specific illnesses wanes over time, and some just don't mount the same response.  

However, vaccines generally prevent from severe infection or serious complications.  Also, when we protect a certain percentage of the population, we develop "herd immunity," which prevents the illness from spreading rapidly and helps to protect our most vulnerable citizens - young infants, immunocompromised, and elderly adults.  

VAERS, or Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, is a system put in place to track events that occur just after vaccines are given.

This is to provide ongoing monitoring of the vaccines to detect trends to see if there may be safety concerns related to a specific vaccine.

It is very important to note, that ANY adverse event after a vaccine is recorded, and are self-reported, and does NOT determine if there is a link - it allows us to detect trends and patterns.  Healthcare professionals are required to report certain adverse events and vaccine manufacturers are required to report all adverse events that come to their attention.