Vaccines are essential to the Medically Ready Force.

Vaccines:

• Are our best defenses against some still common and sometimes deadly diseases.
• Prevent infections, such as tetanus, typhoid fever, measles, yellow fever, smallpox and anthrax, to name just a few.
• Maintain the Medically Ready Force. We fight as a team. All team members must be healthy.
• Help you return home healthy and help your family stay that way.

Vaccines are among the most important accomplishments in medicine. Vaccines have saved more lives throughout the world than any other medical invention, including antibiotics or surgery¹.  Only clean water has saved more lives than vaccines.

For more information on specific vaccine-preventable diseases and delivery of safe and effective immunization services, click on the disease/vaccine pages on the left-hand menu or visit our Immunization Reference Library.

1. World Health Organization. “A Brief History of Vaccination.” July 6, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/a-brief-history-of-vaccination.