Financing Immunization of Adults in the United States

Immunization is one of the most effective and cost-effective prevention measures available. As a result of universal vaccination of children, polio has been eliminated in the United States and much of the world, measles and rubella are no longer endemic diseases in the United States, and most of the other vaccine-preventable diseases of childhood are at or near record lows. A recent review of clinical preventive services by Partnership for Prevention gave childhood immunization a perfect score of 10, based on clinically preventable burden and cost-effectiveness.