Chickenpox affects nearly four million Americans a year. While this disease is usually mild, complications from the disease cause as many as 9,000 people in the United States to be hospitalized each year. The disease costs million of dollars in lost workdays for parents who must stay home to care for their sick children. Routinely vaccinating all children at twelve months can prevent medical problems and reduce the costs associated with the disease. This program represents more than 90 percent of the providers who immunize children in North Carolina.
Immunizations are among the most cost-effective medical interventions available.
Every dollar spent on a full series of childhood immunizations saves 26 dollars in direct and indirect medical costs later.