National Immunization Awareness Month
National Immunization Awareness Month is a chance to reflect on one of the most significant public health achievements of the past century: vaccines. They have dramatically reduced, and in some cases, eliminated many infectious diseases that once caused widespread illness and death. For instance, diseases like smallpox and polio, which once paralyzed thousands of children, are now virtually nonexistent in many parts of the world thanks to successful vaccination campaigns.
Immunization works by stimulating the body’s immune system to recognize and fight specific pathogens, without causing the disease itself. This process helps build immunity and prepares the body to fend off future infections. By getting vaccinated, individuals protect themselves and contribute to the broader community immunity, often referred to as herd immunity. That immunity is especially important to people who can’t be vaccinated due to allergies or weakened immune systems. They rely on a large portion of the population having immunity through vaccination to prevent outbreaks.
As Cascade Health gears up for flu and Covid shot clinics this fall, our Wellness team has some fun facts about vaccines to share:
The first vaccine
Dr. Edward Jenner created the world's first successful vaccine in 1796 when, realizing that people who had been infected with cowpox were immune to smallpox, he inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with matter collected from a cowpox sore on the hand of a milkmaid.
Smallpox eradication
Smallpox is the only human disease that has been completely eradicated thanks to vaccines. The World Health Organization declared it eradicated in 1980 after a successful global vaccination campaign.
Combating polio
In the 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine widely used in humans. At the time, polio killed or paralyzed more than half a million people every year. Salk tested his vaccine on himself and his family, and after wider testing, the U.S. government began a nationwide immunization campaign. Within a year, U.S. polio deaths decreased by 50%, and today polio has been eradicated in most of the world.
A new flu shot each year
The flu vaccine is updated annually because influenza viruses evolve quickly. Researchers predict which flu strains will be most common each year and develop vaccines to combat them. That’s why health care professionals recommend getting a flu shot every year.
Accelerated vaccine development: Historically, vaccine development could take years, even decades. Recently, however, advances in technology and science have significantly sped up the process. The Covid-19 vaccines, developed in under a year, set a record for the fastest development and deployment of a vaccine.