What are immunizations?Immunizations, also called vaccinations, help protect you or your child from diseases. When you are given an immunization, you receive a vaccine that contains fragments of a disease organism or small amounts of a weakened disease organism. The vaccine causes your immune ...

Fact sheet about the meningococcal vaccine from the CDC.

The limited ability of antibiotics to cure C. difficile infection and prevent relapse highlights the need for new strategies such as immunization.

Many children aren't fully protected from childhood diseases like measles and whooping cough because they didn't get the complete series of recommended vaccines or they didn't get them on time.

How do we improve immunogenicity of the influenza vaccine in older adults?

Preteens appear to get same protection with two doses of HPV vaccine as young women who get three

WebMD explains what the flu vaccine is and whether it’s effective against all types of flu viruses including the recent outbreak of swine flu, as well as bird flu and types A, B, and C.

Ethyl mercury from the vaccine preservative thimerosal exits the blood 10 times faster than methyl mercury, on which risk assessments are based.

What strategies can be implemented to increase adolescent uptake of the influenza vaccination?

A new generation of adjuvants are emerging in effective vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer.

The current measles outbreak, which has topped 100 cases so far, is believed to have started at two Disney theme parks in California.

39 percent increase over 18 years remains unexplained

This paper reviews the importance of vaccination in the prevention of infectious diseases and discusses vaccine implementation in developing countries.

Sporadic outbreaks caused by travelers to countries without vaccination programs, doctors say

An article in a medical journal is sharply critical of a popular book that offers an alternative schedule of children's vaccines.

Rotavirus vaccination has dramatically improved the health of children in the USA; but long-term, indirect protection may be limited.

How has the influenza vaccine evolved to match the evolution of influenza viruses?

Vaccine-preventable pertussis is on the rise. What new vaccine approaches can be used to control this disease?

Find WebMD's comprehensive coverage of chickenpox vaccine including medical reference, news, pictures, videos, and more.

Messages that focus on benefits to the child have the most impact, study finds