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Children's Hospital University Hospital One Hospital Drive Columbia, MO 65212 (573) 882-7500 Columbia Regional Hospital 404 Keene Street Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 875-9000 About Us Children's Miracle Network Directions Email a Patient Email Us Make a Gift Medtique Gift Shop Nursery Phone Numbers Staff Council Units and Services Visiting Hours Wishing Well Gift Shop

Facts About Immunization

• Children under 2 years of age are most at risk of contracting these diseases
• In 1996, only three-quarters of Missouri's children were fully vaccinated by age 2.
• Three in 10 children who get tetanus die of associated pneumonia or heart and lung muscle exhaustion.
• One in 10 children who get diphtheria die of associated heart failure or paralysis.
• Sixty-five percent of whooping cough (pertussis) cases occur in children under the age of 5. Half of these cases are infants.
• Immunizations protect children from the debilitating and potentially fatal effects of childhood diseases and prevent harmful outbreaks of contagious diseases.
• Immunizations are free either through the county health department or companies that are required to cover the cost of immunizations for children from birth to 5 years of age without any copayment, coinsurance or deductible requirement.
• Immunizations reduce health-care costs to the public. Every dollar spent by the government on immunization saves $10 in treatment.
• Immunizations are about 97 percent to 99 percent effective when administered properly and adverse side effects to vaccines are extremely rare.
• Immunizations have reduced cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases to very low levels in the United States. However, some of these diseases still are prevalent in other parts of the world and can spread quickly if introduced into a nonimmunized population.
• There is a strong correlation between an increase in the number of immunizations and the number of reported disease cases. For example, after the measles vaccine was licensed in the 1960s, reported measles cases decreased dramatically.
• Children need a series of several immunizations to build complete protection from disease. When a vaccine is injected or swallowed, the body begins to produce disease-fighting substances called antibodies. These antibodies resist bacteria or viruses when they enter the body.
• A child should be fully immunized by age 2. That means five doses of DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) vaccine, four doses of Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), four doses of polio vaccine, three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine, two doses of MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine and one dose of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine.

Source: Missouri Department of Health, Bureau of Immunizations