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There are diseases I was trained to recognize as a physician that I’ve rarely—or never—had to treat. Diseases like Respiratory syncytial virus and Haemophilus influenzae type b—once common causes of crowded emergency rooms and pediatric wards—have declined significantly, not by chance, but because of vaccines. World Immunization Week presents a moment to reflect on what made this progress possible.
Other than clean water, few advances have had a greater impact on public health than vaccines. They have turned once-common, often deadly diseases into distant memories for families and physicians, alike.
Vaccines have transformed health & saved millions of lives
Before vaccines, illnesses like measles, polio and whooping cough caused widespread suffering, fear and claimed thousands of lives each year. In the early 20th century, nearly one in five children did not live to see their fifth birthday – and many of these deaths were due to infectious diseases we can now prevent with vaccines.
Vaccines also deliver significant economic value
- Routine childhood vaccinations for those born between 1994 and 2023 are estimated to have saved the U.S. $540 billion in direct health care costs and about $2.7 trillion in societal costs.
- For every dollar spent on childhood vaccination, about $11 is saved.
Progress can unravel without ongoing vaccination
The protection we’ve built over decades from infectious diseases depends greatly on continued vaccination. When vaccine rates decline, diseases return. Already, we’re seeing this play out with diseases that had once been eliminated in the U.S., including measles. To date, in 2026, according to CDC, there have been 17 new measles outbreaks reported and over 1,700 new cases.
Put simply, the progress we’ve made isn’t permanent, and without sustained support for vaccination, the protections we’ve built hang in the balance.
Science-based policy is critical to U.S. leadership and future innovation
The protections and advances we’ve been afforded thanks to vaccines cannot sustain themselves. Continued progress depends on a stable, evidence-based policy environment that supports continued research, development and access. When that environment becomes uncertain, investment slows down, and the innovation pipeline that has delivered decades of breakthroughs is jeopardized.
That has broader consequences—the U.S. has long been a global leader in vaccine innovation, developing new immunizations, responding to emerging threats and setting the standard for scientific rigor. Maintaining that leadership requires a consistent, science-based approach to policy and decision-making.
Some viruses have long-term impacts, and/or the ability to remain in our bodies for years—such as Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes Simplex Virus and HIV. A consistent and science-based policy environment gives the U.S. an unrivaled platform to find cures and vaccines to end these diseases.
Notably, vaccines are among the most rigorously studied and closely monitored medical products available. They undergo extensive research, large clinical trials and ongoing scientific and regulatory review—and yet we risk undermining progress, future innovation and global leadership in an area where the evidence base is robust and well-established.
As a physician, when I reflect on the role of vaccines and the power of scientific innovation, I think about the diseases I was trained to treat but rarely see. My hope is that the next generation of physicians are also able to go their entire careers without seeing the diseases that at one point defined medicine—but this will only happen if we continue to recognize the critical role vaccines play.
Learn more at PhRMA.org/Vaccines.
Mike Ybarra
Michael Ybarra, M.D., is an emergency physician and Chief Medical Officer at PhRMA. He also serves as Senior Vice President in Advocacy and Strategic Alliances. In these roles, he leads PhRMA’s stakeholder engagement and strategic partnerships on federal and international health policy issues. He is PhRMA’s liaison representative to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and is the co-convener of PhRMA’s R&D Leadership Forum. Dr. Ybarra continues to see patients clinically in the emergency department at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
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Mike Ybarra
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