Protecting Children Through Vaccination: What Every Parent Should Know

At Medical Associates, your child’s health is our top priority. As your community pediatricians, we’re here not only to treat illnesses, but also to help prevent them—starting with one of the most powerful tools in medicine: vaccines.

Since 1994, routine childhood vaccinations in the United States have prevented more than 500 million illnesses, 32 million hospitalizations, and over 1 million deaths. Vaccines work—and their impact is both measurable and life-changing.

A Powerful History of Prevention
A century ago, one in five children in the United States did not survive to adulthood—largely due to infectious diseases. Diseases like smallpox, polio, measles, diphtheria, and tuberculosis claimed millions of lives before science discovered how to prevent them.

The first breakthrough came in 1796, when Edward Jenner used material from cowpox to successfully immunize a young boy against smallpox. Since then, vaccines have continued to evolve—from the rabies vaccine in the 1880s to polio in the 1950s, and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) in the 1970s. Thanks to these discoveries, we no longer grieve the widespread loss of children to preventable illnesses.

Why We Still Vaccinate
Although we rarely see diseases like measles, polio, or diphtheria today, they haven’t disappeared—they’ve been pushed back by widespread vaccination.

Without ongoing protection, these diseases can and do return. Measles, for example, isn’t just a rash and fever. It can cause pneumonia, brain swelling, and even death. Pertussis (whooping cough) can cause infants to stop breathing. Meningococcal disease can progress rapidly and become life-threatening within hours. Polio once paralyzed thousands of U.S. children each year.

Thanks to vaccines, these diseases have become rare in our country. However, as immunization rates decline, we’ve already seen preventable illnesses begin to reappear—reminding us why vaccination remains essential.

How Vaccines Work
Vaccines are one of medicine's greatest interventions, developed through years—often decades—of research, testing, and refinement. The idea is simple, but powerful: expose the immune system to a safe, weakened, or inactive piece of a virus or bacteria so it can learn to recognize and fight off the real thing later. Far from overwhelming the immune system, vaccines engage it in a focused, beneficial way—building protection without causing illness.

From the time of the first smallpox vaccine in the 1700s to today, vaccines have evolved substantially. Today's vaccines are safer, more targeted, and more effective than ever before.

Addressing Common Concerns
We understand that some parents have questions—and we welcome them. Concerns about vaccines and autism, for example, have been thoroughly studied. Dozens of high-quality studies involving millions of children have found no link between vaccines and autism. Likewise, vaccines do not overload the immune system. Children naturally encounter thousands of new microbes every day; vaccines contain only a small number of antigens by comparison.

As pediatricians, we closely review this data—and we choose to vaccinate our own children. We would never recommend something for your family that we wouldn’t choose for ours.

Vaccines Are Part of a Healthy Life
We believe in a holistic approach to health—one that includes nutritious food, good sleep, regular activity, and evidence-based medicine. Vaccination is a cornerstone of that approach. It’s about risk reduction: minimizing the chance of serious illness so your child can spend more time doing what they do best: growing, learning, and enjoying life at home with you.

Let’s Talk
Vaccines save lives, and they keep our communities safe. But we understand that every child is unique, and every family has their own questions. If you’d like to discuss the recommended vaccine schedule, how vaccines work, or any other concerns, contact your pediatrician. 

John Callahan, MD; Thomas Callahan, DO; Mitchell Edwards, MD; Jacqueline Fleming, NP; Heather-Lynn Menezes, DO; Kevin Mullen, MD; Karen Scott, MD, PhD; Sarah Thibadeau, ARNP; Meghan Wendland, MD
Pediatrics Department
Medical Associates

Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov
www.healthychildren.org
www.aap.org