Along with the advent of penicillin, immunizations are widely considered one of history’s most cost-effective public health achievements.  In fact, “every $1 spent on immunizations saves $16 in avoided [healthcare] costs.” Nonetheless, a lifetimes worth of vaccinations, of which the federal government covers approximately 95 percent of the costs, can be expensive. “The federal contract price for all vaccines recommended to age 18 increased from $45 in 1985 to $1,105 for males and $1,407 for females in 2008.” These rising costs are due partly in fact to the novel strains of disease we see more and more often as well as inflation.

The time and money spent on developing these public health precautions should not be taken lightly. For years, the only institutions or individuals able to exempt themselves from required vaccination adherence were those with deeply held religious opposition. This was not an issue as herd-immunity, which is defined as “general immunity to a pathogen in a population based on the acquired immunity to it by a high proportion of members over time,” could protect the unvaccinated individuals as those around them were not potential vectors. However, 20 states have created opt-out clauses in their legislature enabling people to refuse to vaccinate themselves and their children based on personal beliefs. This has created a greater number of potential hosts or vectors for diseases which we once considered eradicated.

Some immunizations are associated with extremely rare side effects. However, parents should weigh the unlikely rare side effects of a vaccination with the complications of disease we have attempted to remove from the population for a reason. I do not agree with exemptions based on personal beliefs as they compromise public health.