The introduction of national recommendations for vaccinations has led to a dramatic reduction in the designated diseases in the USA, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since widespread use of a vaccine, the annual number of cases has fallen by:

- more than 99% for diphtheria, smallpox, polio, measles, and rubella (German measles)
- more than 90% for pertussis (whooping cough), mumps, and tetanus
- more than 80% for hepatitis A and B, and varicella (chickenpox)
- about 35% for infections caused by the Strep. pneumoniae bacterium.

As the report concludes, the number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases is at an all-time low.

Even if you've never had a shot of any sort, vaccine programs have improved your life in many ways - less illness in the USA means increased productivity, and hence greater economic prosperity; saved health costs can be used for managing other diseases; and you've been exposed to fewer infectious disease carriers.

Looking forward, we can expect (or at least hope for) a vaccine against bird flu, and further development of vaccines against smoking, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, and hay fever (i.e. 4 shots instead of months of desensitizing shots). And one day injections won't be needed to deliver the vaccines . . .