Vaccines -- Sufferings or Gains ?

The children nowadays receive many vaccines. As a consequence, the parents and babies suffer a lot! The parents' losses are as follows:

• Before the child is in the clinic, the parents are imagining all possible scenarios -- the cry, the shout, the fight.... -- the parents are suffering the fear.
• When the child is in the clinic, the parents have to do much persuasion, reassurance and encouragement. If all these sweet words failed, they would come out with carrot (promise to buy this or that) or stick (threaten to punish them if not obedient).
• After the child is home, the parents watch out for the possibility of fever -- by feeling the child body or forehead every now and then.
• Time loss - sacrifice a weekend or evening in order to bring the child to clinic. If the clinic has a long queue, the waiting may take hours.
• Financial loss - with the escalating cost of living, the parents have to allocate budget for these vaccines. Less holidays and candle light dinners.

The children's losses are as follow:

• The anxiety of anticipation of an injection.
• The pain after receiving the injection.
• If the fever is high, the child may need to miss the school or even PLAY.

With so much suffering, then why the parents bring the children for vaccination? This is because of the gains, as the examples below:

• The eradication of diseases, e.g. smallpox. (We achieved this in 1977, thus the new generation does not need vaccination against smallpox).
• The near eradication of diseases, e.g. tetanus. (As this is not completely eradicated, we still need the vaccine.)
• The reduced incidence of invasive diseases, e.g. invasive pneumococcal disease. (We cannot prevent all diseases, but should try to prevent serious diseases with complications.Simple upper respiratory tract infection does not clear, but lung, blood and brain infection does kill.)
• Less hospitalization e.g. rotavirus vaccines can prevent against hospitalization due to rotavirus gastroenteritis. [In Malaysia, 38% of hospitalizations for diarrhoea in children yonger than 5 years old are caused by rotavirus (Hung LC et al. Int J Infect Dis 2006; 10:470-4)]
• Reduced disease severity, e.g. the children who had been vaccinated with chickenpox vaccine had milder disease (< 50 lesions), should he developed breakthrough chickenpox.
• Less risks of cancer e.g. human papilloma virus vaccines (HPV) can prevent HPV infection, subsequently prevent cervical cancer.
• Less occurence of common diseases e.g. influenza.

So, back to our question: Vaccines -- sufferings or gain?
What is your opinion?