True or False: Babies can easily handle more than one vaccine at a time

True or False: Babies can easily handle more than one vaccine at a time

5 February 2015

True.

It’s very common for parents—especially parents of newborns—to think their baby is not strong enough to get more than one vaccine at any given appointment. But a baby has an amazing capacity to develop antibodies and, in theory, could handle up to 10,000 vaccines at one time.

Of course, no one has ever administered that many vaccines to one child but understanding the body’s capacity to handle vaccines makes it easier to see why having two or three vaccines on the same day is not a cause for concern.

Scheduling multiple vaccines may also help you better manage your trips to the doctor, which has advantages for both you and your child:

  • If your child is anxious about getting needles then having multiple vaccinations the same day will mean fewer trips to the doctor, which may help reduce or minimize the stress they experience in connection with their vaccinations.
  • Fewer trips to the doctor will also mean less time off school for your child and less time off work for you.
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