Vaccines Help Save Lives

Worldwide, vaccines save 5 lives every minute.1

Vaccines are our best defense.

The introduction of vaccination programs has led to dramatic decreases in disease, disability, and death from many infectious diseases.2 This means that many of the diseases that vaccines help prevent are rarely seen.

U.S. Annual Disease Cases 1900s vs 2017

Click HERE to see what these diseases look like.

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

The CDC estimated number of flu deaths during the 2017-18 season:79,000 6

Sports stadium

More than the average number of people who attend the Super Bowl each year.9

The CDC estimated number of flu hospitalizations during the 2017-18 season:960,000 6

Hospital

More than the number of staffed hospital beds in the U.S.8

The CDC estimated number of flu illnesses during the 2017-18 season:49 million 6

Texas and Florida

More than the combined populations of Texas and Florida7

How vaccines work10

Vaccines enhance your body’s natural defenses without causing the disease.

  • Inactive microbe introduced into the body.

    The vaccine introduces an inactivated form of the microbe into the body.

  • Inactive microbe eliminated.

    The body produces defenses (called antibodies) that can protect it against future infections by this microbe.

  • Active microbes eliminated.

    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

Vaccines are held to very high safety standards because they are given to millions of healthy people—including infants and children—to help prevent diseases. Because of this, they go through years of safety testing and are continually monitored for safety concerns. And every batch of vaccines is tested for quality and safety.14

Click here to learn more about vaccine safety and safeguards.

Lightning bolt

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to have a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine.

Odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime: 1 in 15,300.20
Odds of a serious adverse reaction (anaphylaxis) to most vaccines: 1 in 1,000,000.21

Recommended vaccine schedule

Act now: get vaccinated according to CDC recommended schedules

Infants / Young Children17
Pre-teen / Teen18
Adults 19-6419
Seniors 65+19

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

Talk to your healthcare provider about vaccinations today.

References

  1. 1. Rappuoli R. Vaccines: science, health, longevity, and wealth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(34):12282.
  2. 2. Immunization coverage. World Health Organization website. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/immunization-coverage. Published July 16, 2018. Accessed June 7, 2019.
  3. 3. National notifiable infectious diseases and conditions: United States. https://wonder.cdc.gov/nndss/nndss_annual_tables_menu.asp mmwr_year=2017. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  4. 4. Impact of vaccines in the 20th and 21st centuries. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/e/impact.pdf. Updated January 2019. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  5. 5. Influenza (flu) flu symptoms and complications. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/symptoms.htm. Updated February 26, 2019. Accessed June 7, 2019.
  6. 6. Estimated influenza illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and death in the United States—2017-2018 influenza season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm. Reviewed December 18, 2018. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  7. 7. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts – Florida; Texas. U.S. Census Bureau website. 2018. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/FL,TX/PST045218. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  8. 8. Fast facts on U.S. hospitals, 2019. The American Hospital Association (AHA) website. https://www.aha.org/statistics/fast-facts-us-hospitals. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  9. 9. Super bowl history. The Football Database website. https://www.footballdb.com/seasons/super-bowls.html. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  10. 10. Marisol Touraine, ministre des Affaires sociales, de la Santé et des Droits des femmes, réaffirme l’importance de la vaccination. Inpes Sante publique France website. http://inpes.santepubliquefrance.fr/30000/actus2015/032-vaccination.asp. Published May 6, 2015. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  11. 11. Ensuring the safety of vaccines in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-ensuring-color-office.pdf. Reviewed January 2018. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  12. 12. Is vaccination safe? National Health Services (NHS) United Kingdom website. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/safety-and-side-effects/. Reviewed February 4, 2019. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  13. 13. Vaccines. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines. Content current as of May 14, 2019. . Accessed June 6, 2019.
  14. 14. Vaccine safety. US Department of Health and Human Services Vaccine website. https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/safety. Reviewed December 2017. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  15. 15. What vaccines are recommended for you. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html. Reviewed May 2, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  16. 16. Growing up with vaccines: What parents should know? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/growing/images/global/CDC-Growing-Up-with-Vaccines.pdf. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  17. 17. 2019 recommended vaccinations for infants and children (birth through 6 years) – Parent-friendly version. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/child-easyread.html. Updated February 5, 2019. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  18. 18. 2019 recommended vaccinations for children (7-18 years old) – Parent-friendly version. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/adolescent-easyread.html. Updated February 5, 2019. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  19. 19. Recommended adult immunization schedule for ages 19 years or older, United States, 2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html. Updated February 5, 2019. Accessed June 6, 2019.
  20. 20. How dangerous is lightning? National Weather Service. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/adverse-reactions.html. Accessed July 2, 2019.
  21. 21. Preventing and managing adverse reactions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/adverse-reactions.html. Accessed July 2, 2019.
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