Vaccines are an important component of public health and can help those who receive them build natural immunity to many common serious illnesses. Childhood immunizations prevent serious illnesses, protect communities, and save lives. The typical childhood vaccination schedule today includes immunization against more than a dozen illnesses. But why are they so important?
Disease Prevention
Ask any ER doctor why they believe in childhood vaccines, and they will tell you that they have seen firsthand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable illnesses can cause. In addition to the potential for serious illness or even death, vaccine-preventable diseases can be costly and inconvenient, resulting in a need for medical care and lost time from school and work.
Immunizing kids on the CDC-recommended schedule can help reduce or even eliminate the chance of your child catching the diseases that vaccines are available for, such as pertussis or chickenpox. Each year, millions of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths are prevented by vaccination in the United States.
Disease Eradication
Childhood immunizations have contributed to the eradication or near-eradication of many once-common illnesses in the United States, such as polio, smallpox, and diphtheria. Before the development of the vaccines for these diseases, they caused many deaths in young children and others. It is important to stay vigilant and continue to keep the population vaccinated in order to prevent further outbreaks. Even those diseases which are uncommon in the US can still be brought into the country by foreign travelers or picked up by your child on vacation.
Herd Immunity
Vaccines contribute to safer and healthier communities by creating what is known as herd immunity. Herd immunity protects those who have not yet been vaccinated, such as newborn babies and those who cannot be vaccinated due to contraindications like conditions causing immunosuppression or a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine compone