Seguridad de las vacunas y su repercusión en la población

vaccination is one of the most important achievements in the history of the public health and has contributed to the decrease of morbidity and mortality. unlike the drugs, the vaccines are generally used in healthy persons for them to continue being healthy; therefore, they should not cause more damage than the disease as such. it is necessary that the population and the family know the benefits and possible risks of vaccination, which will expand their knowledge on the importance of vaccines. it is the duty of the physician to make emphasis on this problem in order to assure greater reliability of the vaccination program and its safety in the vaccinated population. he/she must be prepared to pay attention to any concern that may arise in the health area or to any adverse event that might occur. the family doctor as the main performer of this activity should fulfil three basic functions: educational, preventive and surveillance functions. in the near future, the vaccines will continue having great social impact on the prevention of the infectious diseases.