The New York Times featured a new study from the University of Pittsburgh published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which tracked the effects of vaccinations back to 1924, looking at disease trends from the 19th century until the present day. The study showed that more than 100 million cases of serious contagious diseases including polio, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, diphtheria and pertussis, and whooping cough have been prevented and possibly 3 to 4 million deaths.

At Thanksgiving, it is time to reflect on what we have to be thankful about. I am very thankful for the vaccinations my children and I have had.