Diseases do exist—though many young parents haven’t seen them. This is the success of our country’s immunization program. But people not vaccinated, especially children, are at risk for common illnesses like influenza, whooping cough, and chicken pox. Did you know that before the chicken pox vaccine, almost 11,000 Americans had to go to the hospital, and over 100 died, each year from chicken pox? Less common diseases like meningitis, measles, and mumps happen unexpectedly and can spread quickly. Some diseases are just a plane ride away. International travelers not up-to-date on their shots can easily bring a disease back home and infect other people. In 2008 one San Diego child got measles on a family trip to Switzerland. Back home he spread it to family members, classmates—even children at the doctor’s office. Only kids without their shots got sick, including a baby who had to spend time in the hospital. However, dozens of children who came near someone with measles had to be kept home for weeks to make sure the disease didn’t spread any further. In a 2006 outbreak in the Midwest, more than 5,000 high school and college students got mumps. Unvaccinated people, or those who had only one shot, were the most likely to get mumps. Whooping cough is on the rise in California. Cases have tripled in recent years. It’s a nasty disease at any age. But babies can die. Families, child care workers, and communities that get all their shots protect our most vulnerable little ones from getting infected.