The Pediatric Surgical Burden of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Vaccination remains one of the most effective public health achievements in modern medicine, preventing millions of deaths and disabling complications worldwide.1 High childhood immunization coverage eliminated endemic transmission of measles, rubella, and polio in the United States and led the global eradication of smallpox.1 However, declining vaccine uptake, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, has enabled the reemergence of infections once considered controlled. As a result, pediatric surgeons increasingly encounter complications of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) that require operative management, multidisciplinary coordination, and long-term follow up.