The Remarkable Success of Childhood Vaccination in the U.S.

Over 500 million illnesses, 30 million hospitalizations, a million deaths, and trillions of dollars are estimated to have been prevented by routine childhood vaccines since 1994.

What are the health and financial effects of routine childhood vaccination since the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program was established? This program, initiated in 1994, covers the cost of most childhood vaccines for families unable to afford them. CDC researchers used validated databases and surveillance tools to calculate lifetime costs and benefits of nine vaccines available through VFC among the 117 million children (both VFC-eligible and -ineligible) born in the U.S. between 1994 and 2023. Costs included direct medical and nonmedical expenses for managing vaccine-preventable diseases and their long-term sequelae, as well as indirect individual and societal costs.

Childhood vaccination during the study period was estimated to prevent 50…

Reviewing Author

Deborah Lehman, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Deborah Lehman, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

The Remarkable Success of Childhood Vaccination in the U.S.

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Reviewing Author