Parents benefit by missing fewer workdays and avoiding the possible financial costs of disease. Grandparents also benefit. For example, they can avoid getting pneumococcal disease, often transmitted from children. And the community as a whole benefits. With fewer infected individuals, a disease is less likely to spread and healthier people can work more effectively.
These vaccines prevent diseases that would otherwise impose large recurring costs on the public health system.
Chen grasps a key point. Vaccinations are not a burdensome recurrent cost but an investment that yields handsome returns over time.
Given Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO, it is incumbent upon the country's leaders to shoulder the burden of providing the vision to protect and promote health. Chen's announcement demonstrates such vision, and he should be commended for recognizing that the time is ripe for Taiwan to renew its commitment to reducing preventable diseases, adding a another chapter to Taiwan's remarkable, "health miracle."
An expanded vaccination system is clearly a worthwhile investment. The expense may seem high, but failing to act would be even more costly.
David Bloom is chair of the department of population and international health at Harvard University's School of Public Health.
RSS