That comparison is dramatically misleading.
A standard 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains about 355 milliliters of liquid. By comparison, the total volume of vaccines administered from birth through age 18 is about 16–25 milliliters, depending on the vaccines and formulations received.*
Put another way, 16–25 mL is roughly 3 to 5 teaspoons of liquid spread across nearly two decades, not anything close to a 12-ounce soda poured into a child at one time.
Whatever one’s views about vaccines or vaccination policy, public discussions about children’s health should begin with accurate numbers. The difference between 16–25 mL over 18 years and 355 mL is not a minor detail. It is a difference of roughly 14 to 22 times the volume, even before accounting for the fact that vaccines are administered in small doses over many years rather than all at once.
* Information provided by Dr. Scott a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, and a coauthor of "Updated evidence for COVID-19, RSV, and Influenza Vaccines for 2025-2026" in the New England Journal of Medicine.
