Childhood immunization helps keep Tennessee families safe

As federal officials revisit vaccine recommendations, decades of evidence show childhood immunization helps protect Tennessee children, prevent serious illnesses and strengthen community health.

Every August, National Immunization Awareness Month offers an opportunity to recognize one of the most important advancements in children’s health: vaccines. This year, that conversation comes at an especially important moment. As federal health officials review and reconsider recommendations for childhood vaccines, Tennessee families deserve clear, trustworthy information about what is at stake.

Thanks to vaccines, generations of children have grown up healthier, missed fewer days of school and avoided diseases that once devastated families and communities. Illnesses such as polio, measles and whooping cough that once routinely caused severe complications, hospitalization, disability and death are no longer a daily fear for parents.

Vaccines have made an enormous difference. While they do not prevent every infection, they reduce one’s likelihood of becoming sick, slow the spread of outbreaks and lower the risk of severe illness and complications.

Vaccines have transformed children's health

Every day, our families make decisions to reduce risk, even when no solution offers perfect protection. Seat belts and car seats cannot prevent crashes, but they protect drivers and passengers. Smoke detectors cannot prevent fires, but they provide critical early warnings that save lives. When the health and safety of our families are on the line, we do not demand perfection. We value the protection that works.