Stanley Plotkin, often called the “godfather of vaccines,” has spent more than half a century helping to prevent diseases that once terrified parents and filled children’s hospitals. Now, at 93, he’s watching many of those achievements feel suddenly fragile. Rising vaccine hesitancy, political polarization, and pandemic fatigue have left more families unsure whom to trust—and more experts worried that outbreaks of preventable diseases will become common again.


This article uses Plotkin’s story as a lens to understand what’s really happening with vaccines today, what the science actually says, and—most importantly—how you can make confident, informed decisions for yourself and your family without getting lost in the noise.


Stanley Plotkin, an elderly vaccine researcher, sitting in his office surrounded by scientific papers
Stanley Plotkin, one of the most influential vaccine developers in history, reflecting on the state of immunization today. (Image: STAT)

The Problem: A Lifetime of Progress at Risk

Plotkin came of age as a physician in the 1950s, when polio paralyzed children every summer, measles wards were full, and parents walked into clinics already knowing someone who’d lost a child to infection. Vaccines dramatically changed that reality over the following decades. By the 2000s, many of the worst childhood infections were rare in high‑income countries.


Today, however, the landscape is shifting again:

  • Measles outbreaks have returned in the U.S. and Europe where vaccination rates dropped.
  • Some communities saw falling childhood immunization coverage after the COVID‑19 pandemic.
  • Misinformation spreads faster than corrections, especially on social media.
  • Many people now distrust institutions—including public health—more than in previous generations.

“Vaccines are victims of their own success. When you don’t see the diseases, it’s easy to forget how bad they were—and to start questioning whether the protection is worth it.”
— Adapted from reflections often shared by Stanley Plotkin and other vaccinologists

Who Is Stanley Plotkin, and Why Does His Perspective Matter?

Plotkin isn’t just a commentator; he helped create some of the very vaccines that reshaped childhood. His most famous contribution is the rubella vaccine, which has protected millions of babies from congenital rubella syndrome—a condition that can cause deafness, heart defects, and intellectual disability when pregnant women are infected.


Over his career, Plotkin has:

  1. Worked on vaccines for rubella, rabies, rotavirus, and others.
  2. Authored Plotkin’s Vaccines, a leading textbook used by immunization experts worldwide.
  3. Advised governments, regulators, and industry on vaccine development and safety.
  4. Helped train generations of scientists and clinicians in the principles of vaccinology.

Scientist in a laboratory analyzing vaccine samples under a microscope
Vaccine development is a long, iterative process that builds on decades of prior work and safety monitoring.

When someone with that background says he’s worried that his field’s achievements are slipping away, he’s not lamenting a loss of prestige. He’s worried about the return of diseases he spent his life trying to prevent.


Why Vaccine Achievements Are Slipping: Four Interlocking Forces

The erosion of vaccine progress isn’t caused by one group or one platform. It’s the result of several forces pulling in the same direction.


1. The “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” Effect

When Plotkin was a young doctor, he saw children with polio struggling to breathe in iron lungs. Today, most of us have never seen polio, diphtheria, or congenital rubella. That’s a victory—but it also makes vaccines feel optional, especially when side effects (even mild ones like fever or soreness) are more visible than the diseases they prevent.

2. Misinformation and Information Overload

Social media allows unverified claims to spread rapidly—and corrections rarely travel as far. Algorithms favor emotionally charged content, which can make frightening anecdotes feel more compelling than large, careful studies. Even people who want to be responsible can feel paralyzed by conflicting messages.

3. Broken Trust in Institutions

Public health guidance during the COVID‑19 pandemic sometimes changed quickly as new data emerged. While that’s how science works, the shifts were poorly explained, and many people experienced them as “flip‑flopping.” Combined with political polarization, this has left some communities deeply skeptical of official recommendations, including vaccines.

4. Access Barriers and Inequity

Even when people want vaccines, they may face practical hurdles: time off work, childcare, transportation, or lack of a trusted local clinician. Globally, supply, logistics, and cost can still keep vaccines from those who need them most.


What the Evidence Shows About Vaccines Today

No medical intervention is perfect, and vaccines are no exception. But decades of data—from different countries, populations, and vaccine types—give a consistent picture: on a population level, vaccines substantially reduce severe disease, disability, and death, with side effects that are usually mild and temporary.


  • Effectiveness: For example, measles vaccination has led to a more than 80% reduction in measles deaths globally since 2000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • Safety: Serious adverse events from vaccines are rare—often on the order of 1 in hundreds of thousands to millions of doses—and are monitored continually by systems such as the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and similar programs in Europe and elsewhere.
  • Ongoing monitoring: New vaccines, including mRNA COVID‑19 vaccines, have been studied in large clinical trials and then followed with real‑world monitoring involving hundreds of millions of administered doses.

“All vaccines carry some risk, just as any medication does. The question is always, ‘Which risk is greater—the disease or the vaccine?’ Decades of data overwhelmingly show that for recommended vaccines, the disease is by far the bigger threat.”
— Paraphrased from consensus positions of WHO, CDC, and major medical societies

For deeper reading and transparent data:


Practical Steps: How to Navigate Vaccine Decisions with Confidence

Feeling uncertain about vaccines does not make you “anti‑science.” It means you’re taking your health seriously. The goal is to move from anxiety to informed, grounded decisions. Here are concrete steps you can take.


1. Start with Your Personal Risk Profile

The “right” vaccine decision can depend on your age, health conditions, pregnancy status, work environment, and community disease levels. Ask your clinician:

  • “What infections am I (or my child) most at risk for, realistically?”
  • “What does this disease actually look like if I catch it?”
  • “How often do you personally see serious cases of this illness?”

2. Use a Simple, Structured Question List

When considering any vaccine, you might ask:

  1. What are the most common side effects, and how long do they usually last?
  2. What are the rare but serious risks, and how frequently do they occur?
  3. How much does this vaccine reduce my risk of severe disease, hospitalization, or death?
  4. How does the risk of the vaccine compare to the risk of the disease for someone like me?
  5. What’s the evidence from both clinical trials and real‑world data?

3. Vet Your Information Sources

Try to rely on sources that:

  • Disclose their conflicts of interest (financial or otherwise).
  • Cite original studies, not just opinions.
  • Correct themselves when new data emerges.
  • Acknowledge uncertainties instead of pretending everything is absolute.
A doctor discussing vaccine information with a patient at a clinic
A trusted conversation with a clinician who listens to your concerns is often the most helpful vaccine resource.

Common Obstacles—and Realistic Ways to Overcome Them

Even when you’re convinced a vaccine is worthwhile, life can still get in the way. Here are some frequent barriers and practical strategies.


“I’m overwhelmed by conflicting information.”

  • Limit yourself to 2–3 high‑quality sources (e.g., national health authorities, major medical societies).
  • Schedule a specific time to review information, rather than doom‑scrolling late at night.
  • Write down your top 3 concerns and bring them to a medical appointment.

“I had a bad reaction in the past.”

  • Discuss the exact reaction (timing, symptoms, duration) with an allergist or immunization specialist.
  • Ask whether alternative formulations, different schedules, or supervised settings are available.
  • In some cases, it may be appropriate to skip or delay specific vaccines—but that decision is best made with a specialist.

“I can’t take time off work or arrange childcare.”

  • Look for evening or weekend vaccination clinics if available in your area.
  • Ask your employer whether they provide paid time for vaccinations or recovery.
  • Coordinate with family or neighbors to share childcare on appointment days.
For many parents, the hardest part isn’t the science—it’s managing emotions, logistics, and protecting their child’s comfort.

Before and After: What Vaccine Progress Looks Like in Real Life

To understand why Plotkin and his colleagues are so concerned, it helps to visualize what vaccines have actually changed over time.


Archival-style photo of a crowded hospital ward with multiple beds
Before widespread childhood vaccination, hospitals regularly treated severe cases of diseases like polio, measles, and diphtheria.
Healthy children playing together outdoors in a park
After decades of vaccination, many of those diseases became rare in places with high coverage—so rare that some people forgot how dangerous they once were.

A Real‑World Example: Rebuilding Trust in a Hesitant Community

A pediatrician I worked with in a large urban clinic shared a pattern that will feel familiar to many. After the COVID‑19 pandemic, she noticed more parents delaying routine childhood vaccines—not because they were fiercely opposed, but because they felt confused and emotionally exhausted.


Instead of pushing harder, the clinic tried a different approach:

  • They added dedicated “vaccine conversation” appointments with no shots required—just time to talk.
  • They trained staff to start by asking, “What’s your biggest worry about vaccines?” and listening without interrupting.
  • They created simple, one‑page handouts showing how many local hospitalizations were from vaccine‑preventable diseases over the past decade.
  • They helped parents schedule vaccines on days when another trusted family member could come along for support.

Over about a year, the clinic saw childhood immunization rates rise again, especially among families who’d been “on the fence.” The key wasn’t more pressure; it was more partnership.


How You Can Help Protect Vaccine Progress—Without Becoming a Full‑Time Advocate

You don’t need to be a scientist—or agree with every health policy—to contribute to safer, healthier communities. A few small actions can make a real difference.


  • Stay up to date on your own vaccines. This protects you and reduces community spread, especially to those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
  • Model calm, respectful conversations. If someone shares a fear about vaccines, start by validating the emotion (“It’s understandable to worry about your child’s health”) before sharing information.
  • Share high‑quality resources, not arguments. Offering a link to a clear, balanced explainer is often more effective than debating online.
  • Support accessible clinics. If you’re in a position to influence local policy or community programs, prioritize evening and weekend hours, mobile clinics, and multilingual materials.

Looking Ahead: Honoring a Legacy by Making Thoughtful Choices

Stanley Plotkin’s anxiety about the future of vaccines isn’t nostalgia for a bygone era of unquestioned authority. It’s the concern of someone who remembers the reality of measles wards and polio summers—and who knows how quickly those memories can fade when a generation grows up without them.


You don’t have to blindly trust any institution to recognize the hard‑won benefits of vaccines. You can:

  • Ask clear, direct questions about benefits and risks.
  • Seek out data from multiple, independent sources.
  • Take into account your personal health context and community needs.
  • Make vaccination choices that balance individual autonomy with collective protection.

If Plotkin’s generation built the tools to prevent many of history’s most feared infections, our generation’s task is simpler, but no less important: to use those tools wisely, critically, and compassionately—so that the stories he tells from the 1950s remain stories, not headlines.


Your next step: choose one vaccine you’re unsure about—for yourself or your child—and book a dedicated, no‑rush conversation with a trusted clinician to go through your questions one by one. You deserve answers that meet your level of care and concern.