Why Vaccinate?
The Benefits

As a parent or caregiver, you make informed choices to protect your child's health and safety every day.

You research the best child care options, make sure the car seat is properly installed, and ask visitors to wash their hands before holding your newborn. Your choice to immunize is no different. Making an informed choice about immunization is another crucial decision to safeguard your child’s health.

Caregivers like you choose vaccination for a variety of reasons.

Because you can't protect your child from every harm that comes their way. Immunization gives you the power to prevent illness and suffering for your child.
Because vaccinating protects your loved ones and your community from disease.
Because doctors and scientific experts agree that vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect children from serious illnesses.
Because vaccinating your family extends beyond your community to help eliminate disease worldwide.

The vast majority of parents vaccinate their children on time and on schedule. In fact, only 1% of children born in 2019 or 2020 were completely unvaccinated by their 2nd birthday. The decision not to vaccinate can lead to serious health consequences for children and the community. While all parents want what’s best for their kids, the choice to delay or refuse vaccination carries risk.

There are risks from not vaccinating.

Click on a risk to learn more about it.

Increased risk of illness

If your child is exposed to a disease, immunization can save them from severe complications or even death. For example, measles can cause pneumonia, swelling of the brain, or death – even in healthy children. Research shows that unvaccinated children are six times more likely to get pertussis (whooping cough) and 22 times more likely to get measles than their immunized peers.

Exclusion from school or child-care

Limits to travel

Disease outbreaks in your community

High costs

If you have a sick child, you may need to take time off work to care for them, resulting in lost pay. And if your child needs medical attention, the financial cost can be high depending on the care needed. A recent study found that a typical hospital stay costs 384 hours of work for an average wage earner. That's almost 10 weeks of wages for the average full-time earner. Vaccine-preventable diseases lead to high societal costs, as well. In 2022, there were over $6 billion in healthcare charges to treat these diseases in Colorado alone.

Vaccines protect you AND your community.

Immunization protects your child by providing a defense against serious infection and illness. But immunization protects more than your child’s health. Immunizing your child helps to stop the spread of illness to others in your community. When enough people in a community are vaccinated, a protective barrier is formed. This invisible shield makes it less likely for diseases to spread. This is known as “herd immunity” or “community immunity.” Community immunity is especially important for people who cannot get vaccines. These include babies too young to get vaccinated and people with weakened immune systems due to health conditions like cancer. They rely on the rest of us to be vaccinated to prevent disease spread and keep them safe.

Doctors and organizations agree that immunization is the best choice.

There is a landslide of support for childhood vaccines from experienced healthcare experts. Many doctors and organizations stand up for the science of vaccines every day. And many of them choose to be vaccinated themselves; in fact, a 2021 poll showed that 96% of U.S. doctors were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These experts have studied the effects of vaccines and confidently say that vaccines are the best choice for the health of your child.

96% of U.S. doctors were fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Why Vaccinate? The Benefits