Originally posted by OhZone
What a crock!
What vaccine preventable diseases - specifically?
I look at that list and saw none.

Originally posted by OhZone
What a crock!
What vaccine preventable diseases - specifically?

Originally posted by secretstash
I would like to see those numbers compared to illnesses/deaths that ARE directly related to vaccines and see whose number is higher.

Does anyone have those figures?

Originally posted by secretstash
I would like to see those numbers compared to illnesses/deaths that ARE directly related to vaccines and see whose number is higher.

Does anyone have those figures?

A number of infectious diseases are preventable through routine childhood immunizations. Largely as a result of widespread childhood vaccination over the past several decades, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome have become remarkably less common in the U.S. than in prevaccination years, and the numbers of cases reported are at or near the lowest levels ever.1 Comparisons of the total numbers of reported cases in the U.S. in 1994 and in the years preceding vaccination reveal an impressive decrease in reported cases of diphtheria (from 9,493 [1948] to 2 cases), tetanus (from 601 [1948] to 51 cases), paralytic poliomyelitis (from 18,308 [1954] to 0 cases due to endemic wild virus), measles (from 481,530 [1962] to 963 cases), mumps (from 152,209 [1968] to 1,537 cases), rubella (from 57,686 [1969] to 227 cases), and congenital rubella syndrome (from 77 [1970] to 7 cases).2,2a Before the introduction of poliovirus vaccine in 1955, polio occurred in epidemic waves of increasing magnitude, reaching a peak incidence of more than 20,000 paralytic cases in 1952.3 The last outbreak, in 1979, totaled only 10 paralytic cases.

Although the number of pertussis cases has also declined markedly since the prevaccination years (from 74,715 [1948] to 4,617 cases), long-term trends suggest an overall increase in the reported incidence of pertussis since 1976, rising from 0.5/100,000 to 2.6/100,000 in 1993 and 1.8/100,000 in 1994.4,4a Many of these cases occurred in unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated infants and children.

...the security of communicable disease containment in the United States is threatened by a growing trend of parents refusing or delaying immunization for their children, along with inconsistent immunization laws ( [Fredrickson et al., 2004] , [Malone & Hinman, 2003] ). Studies indicate growing parental concerns and uncertainty regarding the safety of childhood vaccines (Fredrickson et al., 2004). A large number of antivaccination media, action groups, and web sites further complicate the situation by publicizing negative vaccine information and highlighting reasons for concern that often have no scientific support. More than half of U.S. family practice physicians encounter parents who refuse to immunize their children, whereas as many as 93% of pediatricians report that parents have refused ( [Garcia, 2005] , [Lyren & Leonard, 2006] ). This trend of refusals and delays has made the threat of outbreaks more likely to occur today than a decade ago. A reappearance of disease outbreaks is a signal that the immunization status in the United States is in jeopardy (American Nurses Association [ANA], 1997). The occurrence of pertussis and measles has continually increased since the 1980s. In fact, measles, rubella, and pertussis have had outbreaks as recently as 2005. These outbreaks were primarily caused by diseases originating in other countries and infecting unimmunized individuals or individuals whose immunizations were not up-to-date .

Parental beliefs, concerns, and fears about vaccination and vaccine safety have been identified as reasons for opposition to vaccination. Parents' misconceptions about vaccination cause them to question the efficacy and wisdom of vaccinating their children when many do not believe there are serious health risks associated with not vaccinating. However, parents do express concerns about hearing negative information promoted by antivaccination movements regarding adverse effects and possible links between vaccines and autism, Guillain–Barre syndrome, and various other illnesses and disorders. Such misinformation negatively affects public health through claims that vaccines are ineffective and that giving multiple vaccines at one time overloads the immune system. This type of erroneous information can increase confusion regarding the efficacy and safety of immunizations (National Network for Immunization Information, 2005b).