Vaccines are safe for your kids and save lives — despite what some parents feel, the head of the Ontario College of Family Physicians says. A survey commissioned by the college found that one-third of Ontario parents who have or planned on immunizing their children were nervous to do so, while 23% said it was a difficult decision.

About 42% of parents said they felt pressured to immunize their child, either from the school, physicians or society in general. Many parents believe that giving their child vaccines will lead to adverse reactions such as acute neurological illnesses.  “Immunizations actually save lives and they are very safe,” said Jan Kasperski, CEO of the college.

“There’s so much misinformation out there and it makes it difficult for parents to immunize their children and feel at ease about it,” she said.

Canada’s public health officials developed the mass immunization program to protect kids from 13 diseases after years of research, Kasperski said.

“We did see some parents who decided to delay the immunization schedule and it lead to their children becoming quite vulnerable. Parents also need to think about the impact of not immunizing your children will have on others,” Kasperski said.

Dr. Val Rachlis, a Toronto family doctor who has been practising since 1974, said vaccines are “medical miracles”.

“Diseases can be life-threatening and vaccines are one of the true miracles of modern medical science ... I’ve never seen a serious complication arise from a vaccine I’ve given in my years of practice,” he said.

“The worry is that because people are not seeing these diseases any more, parents can make false assumptions. We don’t see polio anymore here, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not out there in third world countries and with world travel these days, someone coming from Africa can incubate polio and your child will be a sitting duck if they’re not vaccinated,” Rachlis said.

Adults should receive a tetanus and diphtheria shot once every 10 years, and a pertussis (whooping cough) inoculation once in adulthood.