Those Nerdy Girls trust vaccines and know they’ve saved many lives so we are taking a moment to celebrate them in August, since it is National Immunization Awareness Month.
At Those Nerdy Girls, we argue that no breakthrough has been more important in keeping us healthy than the development of vaccines! Instead of hoping there is a treatment once someone gets sick, *hint there are not many treatments for infections caused by viruses,* vaccines are given to prevent disease. During infection, a virus or bacteria can make millions of copies of itself, start damaging the body, and cause illness before the immune system has a chance to deploy its defenses. Vaccines prepare the immune system by giving it instructions so it is ready to launch an attack on the invader right away instead of trying to play catch up after the virus gets in. This reduces the chance of illness or reduces the symptoms if someone does get sick.
🚨Nerd alert: Vaccine comes from “vacca” meaning cow in Latin. Many immunologists and vaccine researchers call the process of injecting a vaccine and inducing an immune response “immunization”.
Through the hard work of countless scientists, dozens of vaccines have been developed over the years. This includes a new type of vaccine to protect against flu just this year! Those vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives (amazing, right?!), including 146 million children under 5 years of age between 1974 and 2024. Did you know that in 1900, the average person lived around 30 years, and nearly 1 in 3 babies died before the age of 1, mostly from infectious disease? Here is a list of the star players that have led to those amazing improvements to our health:
💉 Yellow fever vaccine, 1938
💉 Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, 1939
💉 Influenza vaccine, 1945
💉 Polio vaccine, 1952-195
💉 Measles vaccine, 1963
💉 Mumps vaccine, 1967
💉 Rubella vaccine, 1969
💉 Hepatitis B vaccine, 1969
💉 Combined measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, 1971
💉 Pneumococcal vaccine, 1978
💉 Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, 1985
💉 Rotavirus vaccine, 2006
💉 HPV vaccine, 2006
💉 Shingles vaccine, 2006, new updated 2017
💉 COVID-19 vaccine, 2020
💉 RSV vaccine, 2025
💉 mRNA flu vaccine, 2026
Many of these vaccines are part of a standard childhood immunization schedule recommended for all U.S. children. Childhood vaccinations have been integral in reducing illness and death on a scale that’s hard to comprehend in 2026.
Scientists are always researching new ways to make vaccines better. In 2020, the mRNA vaccine for COVID showed just how effective new technologies could be. And earlier this month, the FDA approved a new flu vaccine based on that same mRNA technology called mFlusiva. It will be available for people over 50, likely in time for the 26-27 flu season. These types of vaccines are our most cutting-edge and effective vaccines that can be produced quickly, the exact ones we need to prepare us for the next pandemic. Despite the success of mRNA vaccines, last year the US federal government terminated over $500 million in grants that were designed to further develop this technology and prevent future pandemics .
It is important to remember that vaccines are not just for children. The Shingles and RSV vaccines are for older people, and it is recommended that everyone stay up-to-date on the tDAP vaccine, especially if they are pregnant. And it’s worth considering yearly vaccines for Flu and COVID, if eligible.
In 2019, the World Health Organization declared vaccine hesitancy one of the top 10 global threats to human health. Sadly, vaccine hesitancy is in the news a lot these days, and it will have consequences on people’s health by allowing preventable diseases to make comebacks.
The bottom line is that Those Nerdy Girls trust the evidence: vaccines are one of the most important medical advances and save so many lives every year. We celebrate vaccines every day, not just during National Immunization Awareness Month.
If you want to know more about vaccines, check out the other many posts from Those Nerdy Girls about specific vaccines and diseases they prevent.
Stay well,
Those Nerdy Girls
[Based on an original post by Nerdy Girl Megan Madsen written in August 2023.]
Resources and Additional Reading:
Instagram Reel on new mRNA flu vaccine by Nerdy Girl Cindy Leifer
Those Nerdy Girls Posts on Vaccines
Estimates of lives saved each year with vaccines
CDC: Fast Facts on Global Immunization [archived link]
WHO: Vaccines and immunization
Estimates of lives saved with COVID vaccines
NIH: Global Estimates of Lives and Life-Years Saved by COVID-19 Vaccination During 2020-2024
