Seth Mnookin writing for the PLoS blog The Panic Virus calls attention to a shocking conclusion in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association: Vaccinating a single birth cohort of American infants saves about $83 billion and prevents 42,000 deaths. Mnookin has written a book about the antivaccine movement in this country, so I'll let you read about it in his own words. But still. Wow. $83 billion?
The entire JAMA article, 10 Great Public Health Achievements--United States, 2001 to 2010, is really interesting. It includes statistics about tobacco control and motor vehicle safety, but it was the vaccine data that really caught my attention.
Previously: A look at the causes and potential cost of the U.S. measles outbreaks, Unvaccinated children may pose a public health risk and Why this fear of vaccines?
