Millions of lives are saved annually thanks to vaccination, which is a success story in global health and development. In order to create immunity, vaccines act in conjunction with your body’s natural defenses. Your immune system reacts when you receive a vaccination.
More than 20 deadly diseases can now be prevented with vaccines, allowing individuals of all ages to live longer, healthier lives. Vaccines stop 3.5–5 million fatalities yearly from illnesses including measles, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and others.
Immunization is an unquestionable human right and an essential part of primary healthcare. It’s also among the finest investments in health that money can buy. Infectious illness outbreaks can be prevented and controlled with the use of vaccines. They support the security of the world’s health and will be a crucial weapon in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
Nevertheless, vaccination rates have plateaued recently despite significant advancement and may decline for the first time in ten years in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions have put a strain on health services over the past two years, resulting in 23 million children missing vaccinations in 2020—3.7 million more than in 2019 and the largest amount since 2009.
Data from 2021 thus far indicate that disruption will persist. Positive developments include the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine in almost all nations by the end of 2021 and the delivery of one billion doses of the vaccine via COVAX by the beginning of 2022.
Diseases that can be prevented by vaccinations and the vaccines that do so
| Disease | Chickenpox |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | Varicella Vaccine protects against chickenpox. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Rash, tiredness, headache, fever |
| Disease Complications | Infected blisters, bleeding disorders, encephalitis (brain swelling), pneumonia (infection in the lungs), death |
| Disease | Diphtheria |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | DTaP* vaccine protects against diphtheria. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Sore throat, mild fever, weakness, swollen glands in neck |
| Disease Complications | Swelling of the heart muscle, heart failure, coma, paralysis, death |
| Disease | Hib |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | Hib vaccine protects against Haemophilus influenzae type b. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | May be no symptoms unless bacteria enter the blood |
| Disease Complications | Meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), intellectual disability, epiglottitis (life-threatening infection that can block the windpipe and lead to serious breathing problems), pneumonia (infection in the lungs), death |
| Disease | Hepatitis A |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | HepA vaccine protects against hepatitis A. |
| Disease Spread By | Direct contact, contaminated food or water |
| Disease Symptoms | May be no symptoms, fever, stomach pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting, jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), dark urine |
| Disease Complications | Liver failure, arthralgia (joint pain), kidney, pancreatic, and blood disorders, death |
| Disease | Hepatitis B |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | HepB vaccine protects against hepatitis B. |
| Disease Spread By | Contact with blood or body fluids |
| Disease Symptoms | May be no symptoms, fever, headache, weakness, vomiting, jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), joint pain |
| Disease Complications | Chronic liver infection, liver failure, liver cancer, death |
| Disease | Influenza (Flu) |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | Flu vaccine protects against influenza. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Fever, muscle pain, sore throat, cough, extreme fatigue |
| Disease Complications | Pneumonia (infection in the lungs), bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, death |
| Disease | Measles |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | MMR** vaccine protects against measles. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Rash, fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye |
| Disease Complications | Encephalitis (brain swelling), pneumonia (infection in the lungs), death |
| Disease | Mumps |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | MMR**vaccine protects against mumps. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Swollen salivary glands (under the jaw), fever, headache, tiredness, muscle pain |
| Disease Complications | Meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (brain swelling), inflammation of testicles or ovaries, deafness, death |
| Disease | Pertussis |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | DTaP* vaccine protects against pertussis (whooping cough). |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Severe cough, runny nose, apnea (a pause in breathing in infants) |
| Disease Complications | Pneumonia (infection in the lungs), death |
| Disease | Polio |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | IPV vaccine protects against polio. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact, through the mouth |
| Disease Symptoms | May be no symptoms, sore throat, fever, nausea, headache |
| Disease Complications | Paralysis, death |
| Disease | Pneumococcal |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | PCV13 vaccine protects against pneumococcus. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | May be no symptoms, pneumonia (infection in the lungs) |
| Disease Complications | Bacteremia (blood infection), meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), death |
| Disease | Rotavirus |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | RV vaccine protects against rotavirus. |
| Disease Spread By | Through the mouth |
| Disease Symptoms | Diarrhea, fever, vomiting |
| Disease Complications | Severe diarrhea, dehydration, death |
| Disease | Rubella |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | MMR** vaccine protects against rubella. |
| Disease Spread By | Air, direct contact |
| Disease Symptoms | Sometimes rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes |
| Disease Complications | Very serious in pregnant women—can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, birth defects |
| Disease | Tetanus |
|---|---|
| Vaccine | DTaP* vaccine protects against tetanus. |
| Disease Spread By | Exposure through cuts in skin |
| Disease Symptoms | Stiffness in neck and abdominal muscles, difficulty swallowing, muscle spasms, fever |
| Disease Complications | Broken bones, breathing difficulty, death |
* DTaP combines protection against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.
** MMR combines protection against measles, mumps, and rubella.