The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
The impact of 50 years of vaccination on children worldwide
Measles vaccination has had the most impact in saving lives, with 94 million individuals bene ting from the vaccine
In the last 50 years, the lives of about 150 million children have been saved due to vaccinations against dierent diseases. Of these, measles vaccination alone accounts for saving 60% of lives. These are some of the ndings from a new study published in The Lancet.
The decrease in deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases can be attributed to the large-scale expansion of immunisation programmes across the globe. For instance, the measles vaccination rate increased from less than 20% in 2000 to 70% by 2021, worldwide. A similar pattern was observed in the case of vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DTP3) too. The signi cance of vaccinations has been particularly pronounced in reducing infant mortality rates from around 10% in 1974 to 3% in 2024. The researchers estimate that 40% of this decline is due to vaccines.
shows the number of lives saved by various vaccinations from 1974 to 2024 across the world. Measles vaccination has had the most impact, with 94 million individuals bene ting from the vaccine, followed by tetanus (27.9 million), whooping coughpertussis (13.17 million) and tuberculosis (10.87 million) vaccine.
shows the region-wise share of children fully vaccinated against measles, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Western Paci c region saw the most drastic increase in vaccination coverage from 2% in 2000 to 91% in 2021. Rising from 15% in 2010 to nearly 80% in 2021, Southeast Asia also showed signi cant advancement in measles vaccination rates over the last decade. shows the share of oneyear-old children vaccinated
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against DTP3. In 2021, more than 80% of infants received the third dose of the DTP3 vaccine. Here too, the Western Paci c region showed high progress, from less than 10% in 1980 to 90% in 2021.
The progress in vaccination rates is noteworthy because 50 years ago, vaccination coverage outside of Europe and North America was almost negligible. For instance, less than 5% of infants received the DTP3 vaccine. But in 1974, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, formed the Essential Programme on Immunization. Various vaccination programmes were initiated across the world, which aimed to eradicate vaccinepreventable diseases. This led to a signi cant rise in vaccination rates.
But by 2000, progress was stalling, and many of the world’s poorest infants were still being left behind, especially in Africa and Asia. The formation of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance — a partnership between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, Unicef, and the World Bank — has since helped close the gaps by ensuring that vaccination programmes were available for all. While the worldwide progress in vaccination rate is commendable, millions still continue to lose their lives due to insucient vaccination coverage.
shows the estimated number of deaths caused by various vaccine-preventable diseases across years. Every year, tuberculosis claims the lives of over a million people, while hundreds of thousands still die due to measles, tetanus, whooping cough, meningitis, and hepatitis B.
Thus, we need to push for universal vaccine coverage. This will require increased investment and coordination from governments to provide universal immunisation programmes. It is also imperative to address scepticism and the fear towards vaccination.