Introduction: Why is this here?
In general, vaccines are responsible for the greatest share of the huge drop in childhood mortality over the last century, with smaller contributions due to antibiotics and improvements in surgery, cancer care, nutrition, hygiene, intensive care, prenatal care, and product safety. Vaccine contributions range from tens of thousands of deaths prevented each year (DTap, Polio, HiB) to "only" a hundred or so (Hepatitis A, Chickenpox, Flu), as well as preventing brain damage (MMR, DTaP, Polio) and cancer (Hepatitis B) which in the past were often due to vaccine-preventable disease.
In the last decade appeared many new vaccines and safer, more effective versions of old ones, but some opposition to vaccines remains. The statistics of the risk/benefit ratio of vaccination speak for themselves; to counteract "horror stories" circulated about vaccination, I would like to offer true stories of tragic consequences of NOT vaccinating.
In addition to the standard VIS forms, I would like to offer the following links to remove obstacles to universal vaccination posed by widely spread misinformation.
