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Unprotected People Stories 
Stories by Disease
Stories by Number
General
Chickenpox (varicella)
Diphtheria
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hib
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Influenza
Measles
Meningococcal
Mumps
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Pneumococcal
Polio
Rabies
Rotavirus
Rubella
Shingles (zoster)
Tetanus
Yellow Fever

Unprotected People Stories: Disease Index

Real-life accounts of people who have suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases

General Stories 
Click on "HTML" to view the story. Click on "PDF" to view a fully-formatted, print-ready version. Adobe Reader must be installed on your computer.
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
107 HTML  PDF "Failure to Vaccinate Children: An Unconscionable Twist of Faith"
(posted 3/28/14)
94 HTML  PDF "Fact: No Link between Vaccines and Autism"
(posted 3/14/07)
52 HTML  PDF "As the New Year begins, parent expresses . . ."
(posted 1/9/03)
42 HTML  PDF "Are vaccinations worth it?"
(posted 12/31/01)
38 HTML  PDF "Some parents fall for vaccination scare stories . . ."
(posted 1/3/01)
36 HTML  PDF "Remarks by the President on . . ."
(posted 12/19/00)
 
35 HTML  PDF "Physician remembers the tragedies of . . ."
(posted 10/4/00)
22 HTML  PDF "Infection control nurse urges parents to . . ."
(posted 2/22/00)
Chickenpox Stories
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
73 HTML  PDF "CDC provides case reports on . . ."
(posted 3/29/05)
56 HTML  PDF "MMWR article describes two of nine varicella . . ."
(posted 6/13/03)
50 HTML  PDF "Indiana girl dies of varicella"
(posted 10/2/02)
43 HTML  PDF "Periorbital varicella gangrenosa necessitating . . ."
(posted 1/21/02)
31 HTML  PDF "Michigan child's death caused by chickenpox"
(posted 5/25/00)
21 HTML  PDF "Chickenpox claimed the life of my son . . ."
(posted 11/16/99)
19 HTML  PDF "How many varicella deaths will it take?"
(posted 6/4/99)
12 HTML  PDF "Child dies of varicella encephalitis"
(posted 1/29/99)
8 HTML  PDF "Five varicella deaths that could have . . ."
(posted 12/21/98)
4 HTML  PDF "Three fatal varicella cases in unvaccinated . . ."
(posted 11/5/98)
Diphtheria Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
63 HTML  PDF "Pennsylvania man's death from diphtheria . . ."
(posted 1/8/04)
26 HTML  PDF "A death from diphtheria"
(posted 3/15/00)
Hepatitis A Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
30 HTML  PDF "Traveling filmmaker reflects on the high cost . . ."
(posted 5/9/00)
13 HTML  PDF "Virus saps grad in her peak weeks"
(posted 2/10/99)
Hepatitis B Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
102 HTML  PDF "A Lost Week by Mary E. O'Brien, MD"
(posted 4/10/09)
70 HTML  PDF "We called him 'A-Man'"
(posted 12/9/04)
69 HTML  PDF "Testimony before the President's Advisory . . ."
(posted 12/9/04)
68 HTML  PDF "One family's story: Living with hepatitis B"
(posted 12/9/04)
54 HTML  PDF "Medical errors cause two more children to be . . ."
(posted 2/13/03)
49 HTML  PDF "Young doctor learns he has liver cancer too late"
(posted 8/21/02)
45 HTML  PDF "Hepatitis B vaccine at birth saves lives!"
(posted 10/7/02)
34 HTML  PDF "Infant dies of fulminant hepatitis B"
(posted 9/27/00)
32 HTML  PDF "Physician testifies about the importance of . . ."
(posted 6/30/00)
24 HTML  PDF "The benefits of hepatitis B vaccine far . . ."
(posted 3/2/00)
18 HTML  PDF "Lack of prenatal screening for hepatitis B . . ."
(posted 5/27/99)
15 HTML  PDF "Mother's death from hepatitis B moves . . ."
(posted 4/19/99)
9 HTML  PDF "I was at no risk for ever having hepatitis B!"
(posted 1/6/99)
6 HTML  PDF "All the horrors that I endured could have . . . "
(posted 11/12/98)
3 HTML  PDF "Family remembers hepatitis B victim as a girl . . ."
(posted 10/14/98)
2 HTML  PDF "Parent of child with HBV testifies about . . ."
(posted 9/14/98)
Haemophilus influenzae type b Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
99 HTML  PDF "Invasive Hib Disease Kills Unvaccinated Toddler, Sickens Another"
(posted 4/10/09)
77 HTML  PDF "Toddler suffers septicemia, meningitis . . ."
(posted 7/27/05)
39 HTML  PDF "Hib meningitis strikes unvaccinated infant"
(posted 4/25/01)
27 HTML  PDF "A tragic story about Hib meningitis"
(posted 3/22/00)
1 HTML  PDF "A mother's experience with Haemophilus . . ."
(posted 8/21/98)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
91 HTML  PDF "Christine Baze's Story"
(posted 2/27/07)
86 HTML  PDF "HPV Vaccine Has Potential to Reduce Worldwide Cancer Deaths by More Than 200,000"
(posted 2/14/07)
Influenza Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
103 HTML  PDF "Influenza Ends Martin McGowan's Life"
(posted 10/19/09)
98 HTML  PDF "The Story of Amanda Kanowitz"
(posted 4/10/09)
97 HTML  PDF "The Story of Emily Lastinger"
(posted 4/10/09)
96 HTML  PDF "The Story of Katie Bellovich"
(posted 3/21/09)
93 HTML  PDF "Pandemic Influenza 1918"
(posted 2/27/07)
67 HTML  PDF "Influenza killed my beautiful 23-month-old daughter"
(posted 1/26/07)
57 HTML  PDF "MMWR reports influenza as the cause of . . ."
(posted 9/5/03)
Measles Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
108 HTML  PDF "Measles: A Dangerous Illness"
(posted 5/2/14)
100 HTML  PDF "Measles Not Worth the Risk by John Lawrence Kiely"
(posted 4/10/09)
90 HTML  PDF "New England Journal of Medicine Case Report: A 34-Year-Old Pregnant Woman with Confusion and Visual Loss"
(posted 2/27/07)
88 HTML  PDF "Schoolboy, 13, Dies as Measles Makes a Comeback"
(posted 2/27/07)
87 HTML  PDF Open Letter to Parents from Eileen M. Ouellette, M.D., J.D., F.A.A.P., Former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (2005-2006)
(posted 2/14/07)
85 HTML  PDF "The Problem" by the Measles Initiative
(posted 2/14/07)
80 HTML  PDF "Preventable measles outbreak in Indiana . . ."
(posted 10/28/05)
79 HTML  PDF "CDC reports on preventable measles among . . ."
(posted 8/26/05)
66 HTML  PDF "Society pays a high price for nonmedical . . ."
(posted 3/26/04)
64 HTML  PDF "2002 Alabama measles outbreak is traced to an . . ."
(posted 1/22/04)
51 HTML  PDF "Complacency the likely cause of measles . . ."
(posted 10/31/02)
29 HTML  PDF "Measles shots are common sense: personal . . ."
(posted 4/26/00)
11 HTML  PDF "Measles outbreak associated with an . . ."
(posted 1/12/99)
Meningococcal Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
109 HTML  PDF "Overlooked Casualties: Jamie Schanbaum"
(posted 11/6/14)
101 HTML  PDF "In Memory of Ryan Milley"
(posted 4/10/09)
46 HTML  PDF "The laughter of our hearts: Losing a teen to . . ."
(posted 5/30/02)
33 HTML  PDF "Ordinary college student shares horror of . . ."
(posted 9/21/00)
25 HTML  PDF "Meningitis: Big dread on campus"
(posted 3/9/00)
Mumps Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
83 HTML  PDF "Mumps outbreak at a summer camp . . ."
(posted 2/27/06)
Pertussis Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
106 HTML   PDF Ramona's Story
(posted 12/6/13)
76 HTML  PDF "Newborn's death emphasizes need to . . ."
(posted 6/23/05)
74 HTML  PDF "Parents helpless as children battle pertussis"
(posted 5/25/05)
72 HTML  PDF "Infant dies after contracting pertussis from . . ."
(posted 2/1/05)
55 HTML  PDF "Pertussis claims life of Texas infant"
(posted 5/30/03)
47 HTML  PDF "Pertussis Deaths-United States, 2000"
(posted 7/25/02)
23 HTML  PDF "Nick: A close call with whooping cough"
(posted 2/29/00)
10 HTML  PDF "Pertussis claims the lives of two infants"
(posted 1/7/99)
Pneumococcal Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
95 HTML  PDF "Pneumococcal Pneumonia: How I let down my friend"
(posted 7/16/07)
75 HTML  PDF "Three-year-old's ordeal with severe . . ."
(posted 6/8/05)
53 HTML  PDF "Outbreak of pneumococcal pneumonia in a . . ."
(posted 1/16/03)
41 HTML  PDF "Case closed: Pneumococcal vaccine may be . . ."
(posted 11/19/01)
40 HTML  PDF "Boy dies of pneumococcal meningitis"
(posted 5/1/01)
17 HTML  PDF "Two deaths in a nursing home ignite . . ."
(posted 5/26/99)
Polio Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
105 HTML   PDF "Polio Survivor Recalls Tragic Loss of Twin and Classmates"
(posted 5/9/13)
82 HTML  PDF "Unvaccinated U.S. adult traveling abroad . . ."
(posted 2/6/06)
28 HTML  PDF "Polio victim entreats parents to say "yes" . . ."
(posted 3/31/00)
5 HTML  PDF "I awoke one morning unable to walk"
(posted 11/9/98)
Rabies Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
84 HTML  PDF "Mississippi boy dies from rabies . . ."
(posted 3/3/06)
78 HTML  PDF "Florida man dies from rabies . . ."
(posted 8/12/05)
71 HTML  PDF "Wisconsin teen survives clinical rabies . . ."
(posted 12/30/04)
65 HTML  PDF "2003 rabies death highlights the importance . . ."
(posted 2/4/04)
37 HTML  PDF "Human rabies--CA, GA, MN, NY, and WI"
(posted 12/21/00)
14 HTML  PDF "Man without history of bat bite dies of rabies"
(posted 2/15/99)
Rotavirus Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
104 HTML  PDF "Two Children Hospitalized with Rotavirus"
(posted 12/29/09)
92 HTML  PDF "Holly's Experience with Rotavirus"
(posted 2/27/07)
Rubella Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
81 HTML  PDF "Imported case of congenital rubella syndrome . . ."
(posted 11/22/05)
20 HTML  PDF "Infant dies of congenital rubella syndrome"
(posted 10/22/99)
Tetanus Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
62 HTML  PDF "Philosophic objection to vaccination as a risk . . ."
(posted 10/31/03)
61 HTML  PDF "Tetanus among injecting-drug users--CA, 1997"
(posted 10/31/03)
60 HTML  PDF "Death from tetanus after a pretibial laceration"
(posted 10/31/03)
59 HTML  PDF "Blindsided by tetanus"
(posted 10/31/03)
58 HTML  PDF "Tetanus killed woman after fall in garden” and . . .“
(posted 10/31/03)
48 HTML  PDF "Tetanus-Puerto Rico, 2002"
(posted 8/8/02)
16 HTML  PDF "Tetanus is far more than a "rusty nail" disease"
(posted 5/3/99)
7 HTML  PDF "Montana newborn of an unvaccinated mother . . ."
(posted 12/15/98)
Yellow Fever Stories 
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
44 HTML  PDF "Fatal yellow fever in a traveler returning from . . ."
(posted 4/22/02)
Zoster (Shingles) Stories  
NUMBER FORMAT TITLE
89 HTML  PDF "Shingles: An Unwelcome Encore"
(posted 2/27/07)
 
This page was updated on April 22, 2021.
This page was reviewed on April 22, 2021.

 
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