Vaccines Eradicate Diseases and Save Hundreds of Thousands of Lives, CDC Says

The Vaccines for Children program was established in 1993 and aimed to ensure that children would not get sick from preventable diseases. Since 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that vaccines saved over 732,000 lives.

This report comes shortly after the latest update on the measles outbreaks across the United States that totaled 13 states with 129 confirmed cases. A total of 84% of these cases were a result of the patient not being vaccinated (or not knowing if they were vaccinated because the MMR vaccine is administered twice before the age of six).

The case for vaccines is strong. Between 1989 and 1991 there were 55,000 measles cases reported, mainly because uninsured children could not receive the MMR vaccine. Since then, measles has essentially been eliminated (barring the recent outbreaks) as described in this CDC documentation of measles report from 2012. In just a ten-year span, from 2001-2011, only a total of 904 measles cases were reported.

Not only do vaccinations prevent deaths (see polio and meningitis), they also prevent hospital trips and help save an excessive amount of money that would otherwise be spent on unnecessary health care costs. The CDC weekly report found that from 1994-2013, immunization programs helped prevent 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations, and helped save over $1.38 trillion in "societal" costs, which incorporates $295 billion in medical costs.

During the CDC's study period from 1993-2013, approximately 79 million children were born and all of them were saved from an average of four infectious diseases because of vaccinations. The vaccination rates are still above 90% as a result of the Vaccines for Children Program, which was crucial in increasing that rate from its 50%-80% range between 1967 and 1980.

And even with all of these supporting statistics, the data might actually underestimate the full potential of vaccines because the study only included 14 routine childhood immunizations, and not flu shots or any others given after the age of 10.

The moral of the story: get vaccinated. It will keep you healthier, protect others around you, and save you money.