Vaccines

Why should a person risk a possible side effect of a vaccine if the disease against which the vaccine protects is nearly eliminated in the U.S.?

Over the decades, vaccines have been some of the safest and most powerful tools in preventing disease. The Centers We still need to protect ourselves. Some of these devastating diseases are still very prevalent—even epidemic—elsewhere in the world, and travelers can and do bring them back to the U.S. If we were not protected by vaccines, these diseases could quickly spread, causing epidemics here. Also, without mass vaccinations, the few cases we do have in our country could very quickly become thousands of cases.

Even though vaccines have effectively eliminated many dangerous diseases, we also need to protect those around us. A small number of people—for example, those who have an allergic reaction to one of the components in a vaccine—cannot be vaccinated. Also, some people do not respond to the vaccines and are therefore not protected. These people are susceptible to disease, and their only hope of protection is that people around them are immune and will not pass the disease to them. A successful vaccination program relies on the cooperation of every individual to ensure the good of all.