Immunizations represent one of the most impressive medical advances of our age. Devastating diseases such as whooping cough (pertussis), meningitis, and polio, which used to claim the lives of many children, have almost disappeared. Other less severe but unpleasant diseases, such as chicken pox or the flu (influenza), can now be prevented.
Since most of the diseases against which we immunize have been largely vanquished by vaccines (and are rarely seen as a result), the media now focus more on the possible side effects of immunizations than on their benefits. Increasingly, a few pseudo-scientific publications and websites have led some parents to question the usefulness of vaccines.
Make no mistake: Failure to immunize may lead to a resurgence of epidemics, as we lose what scientists call “herd immunity.” We strongly encourage you to be highly discriminative in selecting your information on immunizations.
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