The mainstream adoption of routine vaccinations has served as a preventative measure of addressing diseases that once posed health threats. According to the World Health Organization, about 2-3 million deaths globally in peoples of all ages were averted because of the use of vaccines1. Good health infrastructure, education, surveillance, monitoring, access and affordability of vaccines have made it easy to contain globally, especially countries that have the financial means in upholding high health standards.
Routine early childhood vaccinations for diseases such as diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella have been shown to be very cost effective in the United States2. It has also led to a 95% reduction in vaccine preventable diseases in the United States3.
Vaccine coverage in the United States remains high with about 90% coverage of diseases for children 19-35 months of age.
Below are some definitions key to understanding the concept of vaccinations.
Definitions4:
Vaccine: a product that produces immunity from a disease; Administered through needle injections, by mouth, or by aerosol
Vaccination: the act of injecting a killed or weakened organism that produces immunity in the body against that organism
Immunization: the process by which a person becomes protected from a disease
Vaccine Effectiveness:
This measures the degree to which vaccines are successful in producing the desired result.
This figure depicts the effectiveness of the Polio Vaccination (5)
This figure depicts the effectiveness of the Pertussis Vaccination (6)
This figure depicts the effectiveness of the Measles Vaccination (4)
Prevalence Timeline Measles7:
Measles was specifically chosen as an example to describe an example of the prevalence of the disease. Prevalence is how common the disease is.
Pre-1963 (before vaccination) = 549,000 cases and 495 deaths annually
1988-1991 = 55,000 cases and 123 deaths
2001-2011 = 911 measles cases; median of 62 cases per year
Risk Factors that influence whether an individual chooses to get immunized or not are as follows:
| Factors | Examples |
| Social | Low socioeconomic status (SES) areas may have less access to immunizations8 |
| Behavioral | Perceived link to autism9; religious factors10 |
| Biological | Those with HIV/AIDS and compromised immune systems11 |
| Environmental | Increased rate of international travel with no standards12 |
Groups at Risk7:
There are groups that are generally at increased for contracting diseases that are vaccine preventable, including measles:
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Infants <12 month old
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Those who travel internationally
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Healthcare personnel
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Those opposed to vaccinations