Health Care Providers

Information for Health Care Providers

At some point, most patients will encounter the need for vaccination. Many people question how vaccines are made, if they are effective and whether they are safe. They seek answers to these questions from a wide variety of sources including family, friends, healthcare providers, the Internet, television and medical literature. The information they receive is complex and, at times, inaccurate or misleading. Therefore, health professionals have a responsibility to provide accurate, understandable information and to handle vaccine safety concerns appropriately.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) requires all healthcare providers who administer vaccines to discuss the potential risks and benefits of immunization. Additionally, federal law requires all healthcare providers who administer vaccines in the United States to provide Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) to vaccine recipients (or their parent/guardian) prior to each dose being administered. VIS are developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contain information on the disease as well as the risks and benefits associated with immunization. These documents, and others, can be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention vaccine website.