Disease and death from many vaccine-preventable causes clouded the history, literature, and tales told to us by our parents and grandparents. But they were just that, stories. The truth is that many of these diseases were preventable. Our world as we know it, essentially free of these diseases, will change dramatically if research-based vaccine programs change in this country.
These stories will become the future of our children and grandchildren. Some of the known vaccination program diseases include diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and meningococcal infections.
Diphtheria is a bacterial disease that causes a thick, gray coating on the respiratory tissues that causes difficulty breathing. It can cause kidney failure, heart damage and nerve damage.