Why I Am Grateful for Vaccines
Vaccines are one of the most life-saving public health tools in human history—their introduction revolutionized our world, ushering in a new age of longer and healthier lives. Routine vaccination regimens for children have allowed parents to protect their children against fourteen serious diseases, including polio, measles, whooping cough, rotavirus, mumps, tetanus, chickenpox, and diphtheria, among others. Many today aren’t aware of just how scary and life-changing these diseases can be. Polio, for example, infects the brain and spinal cord, and often leaves its survivors paralyzed for life. Tetanus can cause severe muscle stiffness and lockjaw. Diphtheria creates an obstruction in the throat, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing. Eventually, it can lead to heart failure, paralysis, and death.
According to the WHO, vaccines are estimated to have saved 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years. 101 million of these were infants. But even this number is an underestimate. Vaccines helped to completely eradicate smallpox from the world, and contributed to the successful elimination of polio in many countries—two devastating diseases that each claimed millions of lives. The polio vaccine has not only saved millions of lives, but has prevented paralysis and a lifetime of pain for 20 million people over the past 50 years. A more recent example is the HPV vaccine, which has been administered in the US since 2006. A 2021 study showed that cervical cancer rates were lowered by 90% in women who had received the HPV vaccine at ages 12-13.
In many ways, we owe the gift of life and good health to vaccines. Even beyond good health, vaccines have enabled a capacity for risk-free socialization that humans associate so closely with well-being and true enjoyment of life.
We felt the loss of regular socialization strongly during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, when we came face-to-face with a disconcerting image of what a world might look like without vaccines. In the early days of the pandemic, the world was at a standstill—daily routines were disrupted, gatherings with family and friends were prohibited, and many lives were lost. In the midst of this, the newly developed vaccine felt like a miracle. It hastened the end of the pandemic, and helped bring about a return to commonplace practices previously taken for granted, such as attending events, eating at restaurants, and meeting others in person. The multiple COVID-19 vaccines that were deployed worldwide deserve our ultimate gratitude for the crucial role they played in restoring social freedoms and enjoyment once again.
The ability to prevent otherwise fatal diseases and protect ourselves and each other from infectious diseases is an unparalleled gift; it is a privilege to live in a time when such technology is ubiquitous and readily available. The best way to express our gratitude to these life-saving public health tools is by continuing to make use of them and staying up-to-date on our immunizations. Through this, we can live healthy lives, unencumbered by disease, and can play an integral part in protecting the health of many vulnerable members of our communities.
-written by Samyukta Rao. Samyukta is an Outreach and Development Intern with Unity Consortium. She assists with the development and execution of many of the organization's main operations and initiatives and supports partnership development and engagement with Unity's member organizations. This blog first appeared on the Unity Consortium site www.unity4teenvax.org