I remember stories my parents told about children in their neighborhoods waking up unable to walk (or worse) because of polio. Now, for pennies, we can vaccinate against this and other devastating diseases. Vaccines are the simplest and the most cost efficient tools we have to stay well. My single biggest regret is coming down with shingles 3 days before I was scheduled to get the vaccine. My case was mild, but I have some lingering nerve damage 2 years later. The day a vaccine for chicken pox was announced, I was so excited for my children. They wouldn’t have to endure chicken pox, nor would they carry the virus that might give them shingles later in life.