Vaccines prevent 500 million diseases, 1 million deaths, new report finds

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that in the US, childhood vaccines prevented hundreds of millions of illnesses, tens of millions of hospitalizations, and more than a million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023, according to the CDC's childhood immunization program launched in 1994.

The study also found that vaccines have saved the US healthcare system billions of dollars.

The study "shows the significant impact of vaccines on people's lives and the impressive return on investment in vaccines and immunization services," said Fangjun Zhou, the paper's lead author and a scientist at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "Making sure that children receive vaccinations on time is one of the best ways to prevent diseases, reduce the burden on the health system, and reduce costs as well."

Researchers from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases examined and quantified the health benefits and economic impact of routine vaccinations among children in the United States born between 1994 and last year.

Nine vaccines were included in the analysis: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, Haemophilus influenza, poliovirus, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, chicken pox, hepatitis A, pneumococcal, and rotavirus vaccines.

The researchers found that among about 117 million children born from 1994 to 2023, routine childhood vaccinations would prevent about 508 million cases of disease during the children's lifetime, 32 million hospitalizations, and about 1.13 million deaths.

The largest cumulative number of hospitalizations and deaths averted was about 13.2 million hospitalizations due to measles and about 752,800 deaths due to diphtheria, the researchers wrote.

Routine vaccination produces net savings 

Their analysis also found that routine childhood vaccinations among children born between 1994 and 2023 produced a net savings of $540 billion in direct costs, such as the medical costs of treating the infection, and $2.7 trillion in social costs, such as parents being out of work.

The children's immunization program was launched in the USA in 1994 to provide free vaccinations to eligible persons aged 18 and under. Israel is the leader in the world in immunization programs: a drop of milk was an "Israeli invention" that has existed since 1921 at family health stations, and since then, the vaccination rates in Israel have reached over 92%.

Previous studies have already shown the power of vaccines: in 1980, the World Health Organization declared that the deadly smallpox epidemic was extinct. It is estimated that at least 300 million people died from it in the 20th century before vaccinations began.

Other diseases that have increased significantly include hepatitis A, rubella, polio, and diphtheria. Polio, which causes paralysis in children, and measles were also almost eradicated until about three years ago, but then, due to a significant decrease in vaccination, the diseases re-emerged and spread mainly in the USA, Europe, and Israel.