Childhood immunization has been described as the most effectivepreventive intervention of the twentieth century. When pediatricians recount the defining experiences of their careers, they often refer to the infectious diseases that afflicted past generations of children and parents. Every generation of physicians can recollect such fearsome illnesses -

"I remember the polio cases that occurred every summer, the 'iron lung,' the wheelchairs."

"I recall the measles outbreaks, the infants born blind and deaf from rubella, the epidemics of whooping cough."

"As residents, we spent much of our time treating airway infections and meningitis due to HiB bacteria.Now young pediatricians hardly see these diseases."

Unfortunately, out of sight is too often out of mind. Each of these diseases poses a current danger to our children. Some infections – like whooping cough - continue to circulate at low levels, especially in older individuals, only to re-emerge in children as threats to life and health whenever vaccination rates fall. Others have become uncommon in the US but remain just an airline flight from our borders and our children.

The pediatric community at Huntington Hospital strongly supports the efforts of experts and child advocates at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics to educate parents about the real risks of childhood infections and the protective role of immunizations.

For more information visit American Academy of Pediatrics