Many of us think of vaccines as a relatively modern invention, but this is actually not the case. In one way or another, vaccines have actually been around for centuries, dating back as many as 300 years into the past. Vaccines were first brought into being with the smallpox vaccine, which first was developed by a man of the name of Edward Jenner. Back in the year of 1796, he figured out arm to arm inoculation against smallpox, which worked by taking organic matter from an infected smallpox blister and injecting it into the skin of a person who had not yet been infected.

It was not until the 1940s, however, that the widespread distribution of various vaccines became possible. During this period of time, the vaccines covering and protecting against smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough (also known as pertussis) and tetanus were able to be widely obtained all throughout the country. In the years that have followed since, of course, even more vaccines have made it onto the roster and have been laid on in a schedule by the CDC. The polio vaccine is one of them, with well over 93% of all children falling between the age of 19 months and the age of 35 months getting vaccinated against what what once considered to be a widely debilitating and sometimes even deadly illness. Now, polio is considered eradicated, at least all throughout the United States.

The measles is yet another disease that is protected against through the administration of the MMR vaccine, which not only protects recipients of the vaccine against measles, but from contracting mumps and rubella as well. Thanks to the MMR vaccine, the rates of measles deaths fell by more than three quarters (around 79%, to be just a bit more exact) between the years of 2000 and 2014 alone. Back in the year of 2000, after all, there were more than half of a million measles related deaths. Now, there are only just over 100,000, a number that will continue to fall with the continued administration of the MMR vaccine. Already, it is estimated that more than 17 million lives have been saved through the use of this one vaccine alone.

And vaccines can help to prevent chronic disease as well, such as in the case of Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is something that can lead to even more complex issues, with unmanaged Hepatitis B all too easily becoming liver cancer at some point in time. While conditions like Hepatitis B can be, at least to some extent, managed, it is important to remember that preventing Hepatitis B from ever coming about in the first place is going to be far more effective indeed, to say the very least. Currently, there are very nearly one and a half million people currently living with this condition. It is through vaccinations that we can prevent this number from growing any further.

But the proper storage of these vaccines is an absolute must. After all, a laboratory freezer or other such vaccine freezer is essential for the proper storage of such vaccines. The laboratory freezer has become a staple in many places, and the average laboratory freezer can be used in many settings. The benchtop freezer is commonly used in even the local pharmacy by your home, a smaller and more condensed version of something like the laboratory freezer. But in order for this laboratory freezer is work well, the proper temperature is vital. Ideally, the temperature of the typical laboratory freezer or medical grade freezer will not ever dip below -58 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, it is also important that the temperature of a laboratory freezer or scientific freezer not climb above 5 degrees Fahrenheit as well.

At the end of the day, the importance of vaccines and available and accessible vaccinations is one that is only continuing to grow as time passes on. After all, access to vaccines alone has been found to save as many as two and a half million lives in a single year – if not even more than that, for that matter. For a great many people, vaccines have proven to be immensely life changing – for the better.