Our Life-Saving Vaccines cartoon illustrates four invaluable vaccines that have significantly impacted human civilization throughout history from smallpox and influenza to the development of a measles vaccine and a cure for polio, a disease that previously paralyzed or killed over half a million people worldwide every year from 1940-1950.

There is a reason why these vaccinations are required in childhood: They prevent suffering and death from diseases that only our parents, grandparents or great grandparents experienced. The virus never goes away. It will always return when you least expect it. Vaccination keeps disease in check and prevents widespread infection. The discovery of vaccines more than two hundred years ago is one of the most important achievements in the history of humankind. Since their introduction, vaccines have saved hundreds of millions of lives throughout the world.

Published: Oct. 29, 2021.