Challenges to vaccine safety

The end of the 20th century saw the realization of a goal that was previous ly only dreamed about: the near elimination of many deadly infectious disea ses through universal vaccination. As one disease after another has been dr iven from memory it is vaccination programs themselves that have come to oc cupy the public's mind. With increased scrutiny comes the promise that vacc ines will become even safer, but there is also the threat that ill-founded concerns will result in reduced immunization rates, and diseases will resur ge. This article reviews scientific data relating to current vaccine safety concerns.