Personal Stories About Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Vaccines are necessary because the diseases they prevent still exist. Although you may not know someone who has had a vaccine-preventable disease, many families have endured the consequences of these infections. We have collected and continue to collect some of their stories and post them here.
Sharing these stories is an important aspect of our work because many people are not familiar with vaccine-preventable diseases, and, unfortunately, that means some people don't feel it is important to continue immunizing their children against these diseases. As anyone who has lived through a vaccine-preventable disease will tell you, it is much easier to endure the brief moment of pain from a shot than to endure a serious illness.
Read a personal story
- Chickenpox
- Hepatitis A
- Influenza
- Measles
- Meningococcus
- Pneumococcus
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Shingles
- Whooping cough
Vaccines videos
Read parents' stories
Read about the Immunization Action Coalition's "Unprotected People" project, an ongoing project to collect reports about families' experiences with vaccine-preventable diseases. The coalition works to increase immunization rates and prevent disease by creating and distributing educational materials for health professionals and the public.
Read stories from the book "Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story," produced by The Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children's Hospital.
Read stories of young people who survived meningitis
Visit The Vaccinators, a site created by 11- to 19-year-olds whose goal is to raise awareness about vaccine-preventable diseases, including meningitis.
Contact Us
We would like to hear from you, please use our online form to contact us with questions or comments.
- Vaccine Education Center