Beyond Immunization Week: Unlocking the Power of Vaccines for a Healthier Future

Ever since Edward Jenner discovered how to make people immune to smallpox, we have known the potential of vaccines to save lives. Since then, smallpox has been eradicated, but many preventable diseases continue to wreak havoc on people’s lives due to vaccine hesitancy or the lack of a vaccine.

We should be proud of how far we have come with vaccines. Globally, vaccination saves the lives of around 4 to 5 million people every year. Vaccines currently protect against 30 diseases, including pneumococcal, diphtheria and pertussis. Some diseases, such as polio and tetanus, have been eliminated from much of the world. Sadly, routine vaccination has declined in many countries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which will no doubt lead to preventable tragedies. We need a big catch-up, as the theme of World Immunization Week says.

With ongoing and spectacular progress in science, the relevance of vaccines will only grow in the years to come. For instance, vaccines can help ensure microbes and other disease vectors do not become resistant to antibiotics. What’s more, over 250 vaccine candidates are currently being developed, ensuring that a whole range of diseases will be better protected against in the future.

Vaccines lead to both longer and healthier lives. This is obviously of the greatest value in itself to the people concerned and their loved ones, but it also has socio-economic benefits. Preventing vaccine-avoidable diseases lowers the burden on healthcare systems and enables people to continue to be active contributors to society.

In this sense, vaccines are an incredibly cost-effective public health intervention. One study in Belgium showed that each euro spent on childhood immunization led to three euros in cost savings in terms of reduced burden on health systems and increased productivity.

Prevention is better than cure! Now is not the time for further backsliding in vaccination. On the contrary, if global vaccination coverage were improved, an addition 1.5 million lives could be saved every year. Immunization is an investment in people and in our collective future. Let’s get vaccination back on track in Europe and the world!

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