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Vaccine-preventable diseases have not gone away
Viruses and bacteria that cause disease still exist and can be passed on to those who are unvaccinated and unprotected. While many preventable diseases are no longer common in the US, global travel makes it easy for diseases to spread.
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Vaccines help keep you healthy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccines throughout your life to help protect against many infections. If you skip vaccines, you may be at risk for diseases including flu, measles, and HPV and hepatitis B–both leading causes of cancer.
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Vaccines are as important to your overall health as diet and exercise
Like eating healthy and exercising, vaccines help play a vital role in protecting your health.
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Vaccination can mean the difference between life and death
Vaccine-preventable diseases can be deadly. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 50,000 adults died from vaccine-preventable diseases in the US each year. Routine childhood immunizations are estimated to have prevented more than 1 million deaths in US children between 1994–2023
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Vaccines are safer than the diseases they prevent
The US has a robust approval process in place to ensure the safety of all licensed and approved vaccines. Potential side effects associated with vaccines are uncommon and much less severe than the diseases they prevent.
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Vaccines do not cause disease
Vaccines contain either killed or weakened viruses, making it impossible for vaccines to give you the diseases they are designed to prevent
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Young and healthy people can get very sick, too
Although infants and older adults are at increased risk for serious complications, vaccine-preventable diseases can strike anyone, at any time. If you are young and healthy, getting vaccinated can help you stay that way.
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Vaccine-preventable diseases can be expensive
Diseases have a direct impact on individuals and families, and also carry a high price tag for society as a whole, exceeding an estimated $10 billion per year. An average flu illness can last up to 2 weeks, typically with 5 or 6 missed work or school days. And adults who get hepatitis A lose an average of one month of work. Vaccination is a cost-effective way to save lives. Studies have found that every $1 spent on childhood immunizations results in a savings to the US economy of approximately $11. In adults, 1 study found that an adult vaccination program can return up to 19 times its initial investment.
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When you get sick, your children, grandchildren, and parents may also be at risk
Adults are the most common source of pertussis (whooping cough), which can be deadly in infants. Staying up to date on all recommended vaccines helps protect you and your family as well as those in your community who are unable to be vaccinated.
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Your family and co-workers need you
In the US, millions of adults get sick from vaccine-preventable diseases each year, causing them to miss work and leaving them unable to care for those who depend on them, including children and/or aging parents.
Talk with a trusted healthcare professional about vaccines recommended for you and your family
Updated July 2025
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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