Immunizations have had an enormous impact on improving the health of children in the United States. Most parents today have never seen first-hand the devastating consequences that vaccine-preventable diseases have on a family or community. While these diseases are not common in the U.S., they persist around the world. It is important that we continue to protect our children with vaccines, because outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases can and do occasionally occur in this country.
Vaccination is one of the best ways parents can protect infants, children and teens from 16 potentially harmful diseases. Vaccine-preventable diseases can be very serious, may require hospitalization, or even be deadly — especially in infants and young children.
Serious Diseases Are Still Out There
Reducing and eliminating the diseases that vaccines prevent is one of the top achievements in the history of public health. But, because of this success, most young parents have never seen the devastating effects that diseases like polio, measles or whooping cough (pertussis) can have on a family or community. It's easy to think of these as diseases that only existed in the past. But, the truth is, they still exist. Children in the United States can — and do — still get some of these diseases. In fact, when vaccination rates drop in a community, it's not uncommon to have an outbreak.
In the US, there are known cases of chicken pox, whooping cough, polio and measles. There have also been confirmed cases in Washington State. If there is an outbreak in Ellensburg and your child has not had the disease or vaccination against the disease, they will need to be excluded until they are vaccinated or time period set by Public Health Department.