Serious vaccine - preventable diseases are still out there.
Anywhere people are not protected by vaccination, outbreaks can occur.
The success of vaccines means that many diseases they prevent are rarely seen. However, they have not disappeared. Some diseases, like whooping cough and measles, are still fairly common even though we see them less.4
If we were all vaccinated...
...illness, hospitalization, and deaths from certain diseases could be avoided.
Vaccinations can reduce the number of cases of illness, hospitalization, and even deaths associated with flu, a preventable disease. Flu is different from a cold and some people will develop complications as a result of flu, some of which can be life-threatening and result in death.5
How vaccines work10
Vaccines enhance your body’s natural defenses without causing the disease.
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The vaccine introduces an inactivated form of the microbe into the body.
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The body produces defenses (called antibodies) that can protect it against future infections by this microbe.
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When this disease-causing microbe (called a pathogen) enters the body (through the process of infection), the body’s defenses recognize it and eliminate it so the disease does not develop.
Vaccine Safety
Vaccines are some of the most rigorously-tested medicinal products available.11-13
Recommended vaccine schedule
Act now: get vaccinated according to CDC recommended schedules
You can keep yourself and your family safe and healthy by getting vaccinations on a CDC recommended schedule.15
Vaccination helps protect health against certain diseases at every stage of life. Many diseases can be prevented through routine, on-time vaccination starting at birth and continuing through childhood and throughout our adult lives. By following the CDC recommended vaccinations, you can keep yourself and your family safe and healthy by providing immunity before disease exposure or risk of exposure increases.15-16