A new study published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the impact routine childhood vaccinations have had on the country’s public health.
According to the report, these vaccinations have prevented millions of illnesses, millions of hospitalizations, and more than one million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023.
This analysis highlights not only the health benefits but also the substantial economic savings achieved through the Vaccines for Children program implemented by the CDC in 1994.
The report, which analyzes routine vaccinations through the Vaccines for Children program, highlights how vaccines have been a vital tool in preventing disease and reducing the burden on the healthcare system.
Fangjun Zhou, a scientist at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and lead author of the study, emphasizes that the benefits of vaccines have remained consistent over time, even when new vaccines have been added to the children’s program.
Zhou stressed that staying up to date with recommended vaccines is one of the best ways to prevent disease, reduce pressure on the health care system and, in many cases, reduce associated costs.
Economic Savings
The study focused on nine specific vaccines: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP); Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib); poliovirus; measles, mumps, and German measles; hepatitis B; chickenpox; hepatitis A; conjugated pneumococcus and rotavirus. Although this analysis did not include some common vaccines such as influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus, the results showed significant impact.
Using data from national immunization and disease surveillance surveys, the researchers estimated that routine vaccination prevented about 508 million cases of disease, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1.13 million deaths among the 117 million children born during that period.
The report also highlights economic savings, estimating that childhood vaccinations have led to a net savings of $540 billion in direct costs, such as medical care to treat infections, and $2.7 trillion in societal costs, such as the loss of income of parents who must care for their sick children.
Dr. Sara Siddiqui, a pediatrician at NYU Langone’s Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, called the report “proof of the success” of vaccines in preventing disease.
Siddiqi, who was not involved in the study, emphasized the importance of vaccines in keeping children healthy and out of the hospital, and urged parents to maintain an ongoing dialogue with pediatricians about vaccinating their children.
The children’s vaccination program was created in response to a measles epidemic between 1989 and 1991 that affected thousands of people and caused hundreds of deaths. The CDC found that more than half of children infected with measles were not vaccinated, leading to the creation of the program in 1994.
The program provides vaccines at no cost to children under 18 who meet certain requirements, and last year more than half of the country’s children (about 54%) were eligible to receive these vaccines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, childhood vaccination coverage saw a decrease due to difficulties in accessing primary care services and the spread of misinformation about vaccines.
Globally, childhood vaccinations also saw a decline, which represents a challenge to recovering vaccination levels before the pandemic, according to the WHO. Currently, efforts are focused on reaching children who missed out on vaccinations during the pandemic and strengthening immunization services.
