HHS HealthBeat (June 6, 2012)

On the vaccine schedule

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Parents are doing well in getting their kids vaccinated on schedule. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rates are at record highs, or near them. But some kids are still coming down with diseases they would not have gotten if they were vaccinated.  

At the CDC, Dr. Lance Rodewald:

“There are 14 diseases that are preventable through vaccination before the second year of life. Routine vaccination in the U.S. prevents 42,000 deaths every year, and over 20 million cases of vaccine-preventable disease.”  (13 seconds)

Rodewald says vaccines are thoroughly tested and safe. He also says vaccination prevents almost all cases, and can make the disease milder in those uncommon cases when the disease occurs anyway.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: June 6, 2012