Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements of medicine and has spared millions of people the effects of devastating diseases. As a result of the high level of immunization in the United States these disease have declined to near zero.
Diseases cause suffering and, in some cases, permanent disability or death.
Vaccines allow a person to be protected from the disease without experiencing the serious adverse effects of that illness. It is much better to gain immunity from a vaccine. In addition, brain damage can result from measles, Hib meningitis, or pertussis. If a woman gets rubella while pregnant, her baby could have serious birth defects. Immunity from a vaccine offers protection against future disease that is similar to immunity acquired from a natural infection, although several doses of a vaccine may have to be given for a child to have a full immune response.