Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder in which a person’s own immune system damages their nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. It often follows infection with a virus or bacteria. Most people recover fully from GBS, but some people...
With an inactivated (killed) vaccine, it isn’t possible. Dead viruses or bacteria can’t cause disease. With live (weakened) vaccines, some children get what appears to be a mild case of disease (for example, what looks like a measles or chickenpox rash, but with only...
It isn’t very common, but it can happen. Depending on the vaccine, about 1 percent to 5 percent of children who are vaccinated fail to develop immunity. For very few people, underlying illnesses may affect their immune system response and in turn, they may require...
Babies may get some temporary immunity (protection) from mom during the last few weeks of pregnancy—but only for the diseases to which mom is immune. Breastfeeding may also protect your baby temporarily from minor infections, such as colds. But these antibodies do not...
In fact, the chickenpox vaccine was not available when many of us were children, which is why we did not get the shot. However, chickenpox can actually be a painful, serious disease. In many cases, children experience a mild case of chickenpox, but other children may...
