Fear and pain are among the most common side effects of getting a shot, and a new clinical guideline says vaccination programs still are not routinely doing enough to prevent them. Published Sept. 21 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the guideline lays out 16 recommendations for reducing distress during vaccine injections, from breastfeeding infants during the shot to numbing creams and music for older children and adults.
The timing matters for U.S. families. Fall is the busiest season for flu shots, COVID vaccines, and back-to-school catch-up doses, and many parents brace for tears at the pediatrician's office. The guideline's message is that much of that distress is preventable with simple, low-cost steps.
