Why We Recommend Vaccines

The vaccines that we give today work so well that most young parents have never seen the illness that the vaccines are designed to prevent.  Many parents worry about the risks of vaccines, since they have never seen these illnesses, they feel giving their child the vaccine may be riskier than getting the illness.  What would happen if we stopped giving  vaccines? These terrible illnesses would recur.

Dr. DiMarco and Dr. McNeely grew up just after the polio epidemic of the 1950s.  Even the President of the United States was susceptible to Polio.  President   Roosevelt  lost the ability to walk after being stuck by polio. Parents in that era lined the children up to get the polio vaccine as soon as it was available.

During our childhood, it was common to have a friend’s house quarantined because of a child with whooping cough.  Some children died.

During our careers we have seen meningitis practically go away because of the protection of the Hib and Prevnar vaccines. 

We rarely see Chicken Pox because of the excellent Varivax vaccine.  We have learned how important boosters are because teenagers are getting chicken pox now as their immunity wears off, but didn’t get the Chicken Pox because they were protected during their childhood by the vaccine, 

The brother of one of Dr. McNeely’s childhood friends was a child with congenital rubella because his mother had rubella during her pregnancy.  He grew up nearly blind and severely mentally retarded.   

We are so blessed to have these wonderful vaccines. Dr. DiMarco and Dr. McNeely recommend getting your child protected from the illnesses they have seen during their lives and careers