Vaccine-preventable diseases are rare today, thanks to the discovery of vaccine, but that doesn’t mean they have disappeared. Smallpox was eradicated except for some laboratory samples. Polio and diphtheria are very seldom heard of in the United States and around the world. That would not have happened without vaccinations.
We know that vaccines protect not only ourselves but those around us who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons. If our immune system stops an illness before it starts, the contagious period is shortened or the disease may not develop at all.
Because of the vaccination program, it is estimated that for every dollar spent, people have saved more than $5 in direct cost and approximately $11 in additional costs to society. That is quite a return on the dollar. Vaccinations are crucial to protecting entire communities and are an integral part of public health.
It is critical for communities to remain diligent in their efforts to immunize it citizens. We have learned that if too many people in a community do not get vaccinations, diseases can reappear. This lesson has been learned in the past and lives have been lost. In 1989, low vaccination rates allowed a measles outbreak to occur in the United States. The outbreak resulted in more than 55,000 cases of measles and 136 measles associated deaths.
Another example of what can happen if people are not vaccinated occurred in Japan in 1974. Japan had a successful pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination program, immunizing nearly 80% of their children. That year, less than 400 cases of pertussis were reported in the entire country. It was decided that the vaccination was no longer needed. Two years later only 10% of infants were being vaccinated. In 1979, Japan suffered a major epidemic with more than 13,000 cases of pertussis being reported resulting in 41 children losing their lives. In 1981, Japan began vaccinating and again, the number of cases dropped.
We do everything we can to protect our families from the dangers of everyday life. Lifejackets, seatbelts and immunizations are life preservers that ensure the safety and well being of all.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recently revised the Code of State Regulations Immunization Requirements for School Children. The rules establish minimum immunizations for children enrolled in Missouri public, private, and parochial schools, daycares, preschools or nursery schools.
Effective beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, school children will be required to have:
n Second dose of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine for all children entering kindergarten. Exceptions are made for children who have had a documented case of chickenpox. A physician must provide a statement as proof the child has had the disease. For children enrolled in grades one through five, only one dose of varicella vaccine is required.
