Immunizations: Are They the Right Choice for Your Baby?

"The benefits of the vaccines so outweigh the risks," Dr. Stern says. "The illnesses themselves are either untreatable, or even with treatment, potentially devastating. The risk of significant reactions to vaccines is in the one or two in several million doses, while the risks of the diseases are hundreds of times that."

Dr. Hainer also believes in immunizations. "They protect children and other children and adults in their communities," he says. Indeed, there is something called "herd immunity," Dr. Stern says, which means that if enough people around you are protected by vaccines, your own risk is reduced. Once that percentage falls, and it is different for every infection, but usually around 80 to 85 percent, the risk of the disease increases.

"Vaccines, after clean water, are the single most effective and safest public health intervention that exists," Dr. Stern says.