Vaccines were developed to protect individuals from dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases. Vaccines are safe and effective, and such diseases are still a threat.

• Pertussis or “whooping cough” is an extremely dangerous disease for infants. It is not easily treated and can result in permanent brain damage or death. During 1997–2000, nearly 30,000 cases of pertussis were reported in the United States, including 62 pertussis-related deaths. Of infected infants younger than age 6 months, two-thirds needed to be hospitalized. In 2004, 25,827 cases were reported—the most cases reported since 1959.
• Measles is dangerous and very contagious. During the 1989-1991 U.S. measles epidemic, approximately 55,000 cases and 132 deaths (mostly children) were reported. Worldwide, measles kills approximately 745,000 children each year.
• Diphtheria is an infectious disease of the nose and throat that can lead to serious breathing problems, heart failure, paralysis, and even death. In recent years, there have been few cases of diphtheria in the United States. However, a diphtheria epidemic recently occurred in countries of the former Soviet Union where many children and adults had not been immunized. Their reported cases of diphtheria rose from 839 in 1989 to 47,802 in 1994, when 1,746 persons died. At least 20 infected individuals exported the disease along the way.
• Before the availability of a chickenpox vaccine, almost every child suffered from this disease. Between 1988-1995, up to 10,000 people were hospitalized each year from complications of chickenpox—most of them previously healthy children. An average of 43 children died from chickenpox each year from 1990-1994.
• During the 2003–04 influenza season, 40 states reported 152 influenza-related deaths among children younger than 18.

Children who are not immunized can transmit vaccine-preventable diseases throughout the community. Unvaccinated people can pass diseases on to babies who are too young to be fully immunized.

• Unvaccinated people pose a threat to children and adults who can't be immunized for medical reasons. This includes people with leukemia and other cancers, HIV/AIDS and other immune system problems, and persons receiving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or large doses of corticosteroids.
• Unvaccinated people can infect the small percentage of children whose immunizations did not "take."

During disease outbreaks, unimmunized children may be excluded from school or child care until the outbreak is over, both for their own protection and for the protection of others. This causes hardship for the child and parent.

What to do...

We strongly encourage you to immunize your child, but ultimately the decision is yours. Please discuss any concerns you have with a trusted healthcare provider or call the immunization coordinator at your local or state health department. Your final decision affects not only the health of your child, but also the rest of your family, the health of your child's friends and their families, classmates, neighbors, and community.

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