Did You Know?
- Nevada requires all children to be fully immunized before going to childcare or school.
- Tetanus is also called “lockjaw” because it causes stiffness of the jaw and neck.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in a wheelchair because he had polio.
- Chickenpox disease got its name because the blisters looked like chickpeas.
- Some people believe that Sacagawea, the guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died of diphtheria.
- An outbreak of diphtheria led to the famous Alaskan dog sled run. Diphtheria antitoxin had to be rushed from Nenana to Nome, Alaska by dog sled.
- The word vaccine comes from the latin word for cow, because cowpox was used as a cure for smallpox.
- Benjamin Franklin’s son died of smallpox after he refused to have his son receive the precursor to the smallpox vaccine.
- During the Civil War, more than 4,000 troops died of measles.
- The word rubella means “little red” and was used to describe an outbreak at a boys’ school in India.
- Around the world, some moms walk as far as 15 miles to reach life-saving vaccines for their children.
- Two of the most common causes of child death – pneumonia and diarrhea – can be largely prevented by existing vaccines.
- The number of children dying every year from preventable diseases in developing countries is nearly equivalent to half the children entering kindergarten in the U.S.
- Expanding access to vaccines can prevent an additional 1.5 million deaths each year.
- Although there are some diseases that are virtually non-existent in the U.S., many of these diseases are only a plane ride away.
- A high vaccination rate among children reduces the chance of an epidemic.
Updated on: October 10, 2018