Vaccines help save lives. They are the best way to help protect you or your child from getting certain diseases that are spread from person to person (infectious diseases).

They also help reduce the spread of a disease to prevent a sudden outbreak of the disease, which is called an epidemic. Preventing the spread of disease is very important for people with weak immune systems. These people may not be able to get vaccines, or vaccines don't work well for them. Their only protection is for others to get vaccinated so that infectious diseases are less common.

People sometimes ask if babies have natural protection from disease during pregnancy. And during the last few weeks of pregnancy, babies do get some protection against disease. But it is only for diseases that the person who is pregnant is protected against. The protection the baby gets doesn't last very long. Breast milk can give a baby antibodies that help fight infection.

There are many other reasons why vaccines are important:

• They cost less than getting treated for the disease.
• The risk of problems from getting a disease is much greater than the risk of having a serious reaction to the vaccine.
• They are often required to enroll in school or day care. And they may be required depending on your work or for travel to another country.
• They may help prevent days out of work or school due to illness or caring for a sick person.
• They may help stop preventable diseases from coming back.
• If a disease occurs in a community, there is less risk of an outbreak if people have gotten the vaccine.