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Written by Annelies Kuemmerle, Program Associate – Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County – Family and Community Health Sciences
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines are the best way to protect yourself from preventable diseases. Not only do vaccines help keep you from getting sick, but they also help lower the spread of diseases. They protect at-risk groups like older adults, children, pregnant women, and people with chronic health conditions. Vaccines have saved millions of lives over the years. Let’s take a brief look at some famous examples from history.
People from many cultures across the globe observed that the body could “learn” to defend itself against smallpox if it were exposed to material from someone who was mildly sick. In the 1790s, Dr. Edward Jenner applied these observations and inoculated an 8-year-old boy against smallpox. He first used material from cowpox. This gave rise to the term “vaccine,” which comes from the Latin word for cow. Despite rumors that the vaccine would turn people into cows, his method proved credible within a few years.
Fast forward to the 1950s, when the World Health Organization (WHO) set out to eradicate smallpox. Despite the ongoing Cold War, countries around the world worked towards the shared goal of stopping one of mankind’s deadliest diseases. According to WHO, smallpox killed over 300 million people just in the 1900s. When WHO officially announced smallpox was eradicated in 1980, it was considered one of the biggest public health achievements in history. The story of smallpox reminds us of the importance of vaccines. It highlights the cooperative effort between countries, international agencies, and community members. We are free from the threat of smallpox today because of their collective efforts.
Vaccines protect us against many serious diseases. They offer the best protection when most of us get them because “herd immunity” lowers the ability for a disease to spread. While smallpox is the only disease that was eradicated world-wide, vaccines have drastically lowered the rates of many other diseases. According to information from CDC, after the measles vaccine became available in 1963, rates of measled dropped from about 500,000 cases a year to 59 cases last year. In the early 1950’s, polio caused more than 16,000 cases of paralysis and over 1,800 deaths per year but is currently considered eliminated in the United States. The 13,000 to 15,000 yearly deaths from diphtheria have dropped to one death between 1996 and 2018 in the United States. These are just a few examples of the positive impact vaccines have had on human health.
The flu may not seem as scary as these diseases from history, but the numbers tell a different story. During the 2022-2023 flu season, CDC estimates 31 million people had the flu and 21,000 people died from the flu just in the United States. The flu is a serious public health issue. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step at reducing your risk of getting the flu. Ideally, you should get your flu vaccine by the end of October. This year’s vaccine protects you against three different strains of flu. Because the flu virus changes from year to year, a new vaccine is needed yearly.
Most of us probably know that COVID-19 strains also change over time. CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older should get a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and your risk of dying from COVID. Just like with the flu vaccine, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines helps protect you against the newest strains.
Both flu and COVID-19 vaccines are safe for most of the population. These vaccines are rigorously studied and continuously monitored for safety and efficacy. Both are safer and more reliable for building immunity than contracting the diseases themselves. Neither vaccine can give you the viruses they protect against. Visit www.cdc.gov if you are interested in learning more and talk to your healthcare provider to determine if these vaccines are appropriate for you. We can keep playing our part in protecting ourselves and loved ones from preventable diseases and contribute to the positive legacy vaccines have played in public health.