Sioux Falls, SD – Prior to the widespread implementation of vaccines, catastrophic infections in the U.S. claimed millions of children’s lives and left many others with lifelong health complications.

Over the next century, vaccines successfully eradicated long-standing threats like polio and measles, leading to a significant decrease in many diseases. However, today, as preventable and contagious diseases resurface, vaccine hesitancy is causing a decline in vaccination rates. Moreover, established vaccines are facing skepticism from figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some civil servants. Long-time anti-vaccine advocates are influencing perceptions managed by the Federal Health Bureau.

“These concerns, along with hesitations and queries regarding vaccines, stem from the profound success of vaccination, as it has eradicated many diseases,” explained Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “If you don’t experience the disease, you lack respect or fear for it, thus undervaluing the vaccine.”

Anti-vaccine proponents often depict vaccines as perilous, emphasizing the rare side effects while neglecting the significantly greater risks posed by the diseases themselves.

Some Americans are acutely aware of the realities of vaccine-preventable diseases, as revealed in interviews conducted by the Associated Press.

Illness during pregnancy can impact two lives

For decades, Janice Farnham has cared for her daughter Jack. Jack, now 60, was born with congenital rubella syndrome, which caused complications with his hearing, vision, and heart. At the time, there was no vaccine for rubella, and Janice caught the infection early in her pregnancy.

Janice, now 80, did everything within her power to help Jack thrive, yet it took a toll on her own well-being. Jack eventually developed diabetes, glaucoma, autistic tendencies, and arthritis.

Currently, Jack resides in an adult care facility, spending four to five days a week with Janice. She is touched by Jack’s sense of humor and loving nature, frequently showering her with affection and often signing “Double I Love You.”

Given their family’s experiences, Janice finds it “more than frustrating” when individuals opt out of the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella.

“I know what the outcome will be,” she expressed. “I simply want to spare others from enduring this.”

Delaying vaccinations can have dire consequences

Over fifty years have passed, yet Patricia Tobin vividly recalls finding her unconscious sister Karen on the bathroom floor.

In 1970, Karen was only six years old when she contracted measles. At that time, vaccines were not mandated for students in Miami. Doctors mentioned vaccinations for first graders, but urgency was not communicated by their mothers.

“It’s not that she was against it,” Tobin clarified. “She believed she had time.”

As measles outbreaks progressed, Karen collapsed in the restroom and never regained consciousness. She succumbed to encephalitis.

“We could never converse with her again,” Tobin mourned.

Presently, all states necessitate certain vaccinations for children to enroll in school. However, an increasing number of individuals are opting for exemptions. Schaffner from Vanderbilt emphasized that memories of measles outbreaks have been worsened by fraudulent studies falsely asserting a link between MMR vaccines and autism.

The result? Most states fall below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergarten children – the minimum required to shield communities from measles outbreaks.

Preventable diseases can lead to lasting effects

One of Lora Duguay’s earliest memories is lying in a quarantined hospital ward, her frail body surrounded by ice. She was just three years old.

In 1959, polio was rampant in Clearwater, Florida. It was one of the most dreaded diseases in the U.S., leading some paranoid parents to isolate their children during the epidemic.

Due to the infamous nature of polio, the introduction of its vaccine was met with widespread excitement. However, the early vaccines Duguay received had an efficacy rate of only 80% to 90%, leaving many unvaccinated and vulnerable to the virus.

The treatment allowed her to walk again, but she eventually developed post-polio syndrome, a neuromuscular disorder that deteriorates over time, leaving her in a wheelchair today.

Many children receive vaccinations now because the illness that changed her life is no longer a threat in the U.S. This new vaccine is much more effective than earlier versions, not only safeguarding individuals but also preventing sporadic cases from escalating among vulnerable populations.

Vulnerable populations remain at risk without vaccinations

Each night, Katie Van Troonhout cradles a small plaster cast of her daughter’s feet, a painful reminder of her child who succumbed to whooping cough in just 37 days.

Curry Grace was born on Christmas Eve in 2009. At just a month old, she showed symptoms of whooping cough after being exposed to someone too young to receive the Tdap vaccine.

At the hospital, Van Troonhout recalls the medical team desperately trying to save her, but “within minutes, she was gone.”

Today, Curry remains a part of her family’s life, with Van Troonhout advocating for vaccination and sharing her story with others.

“It’s our responsibility as adults to protect our children; that’s what parents do,” Van Troonhout stated. “I witnessed my daughter die from preventable illnesses… you don’t want to have my experiences.”