The key to a healthier future for all
IMMUNISATION saves millions of lives every year and it is widely recognised as one of the world’s most successful health interventions.
Yet, there are still nearly 20 million children in the world today who are not getting the vaccines they need, and many miss out on vital vaccines during adolescence, adulthood and into old age.
Using the theme “Vaccines bring us closer”, World Immunisation Week 2021 will urge greater engagement around immunisation globally to promote the importance of vaccination in bringing people together, and improving the health and well-being of everyone, everywhere, throughout life.
As part of the 2021 campaign, the WHO, partners and individuals around the world will unite to: ¡ Increase trust and confidence in vaccines to maintain or increase vaccine acceptance.
¡ Increase investment in vaccines, including routine immunisation, to remove barriers to access.
Covid-19 v routine vaccines
While the world focuses on critically important new vaccines to protect against Covid-19, there remains a need to ensure routine vaccinations are not missed.
Many children have not been vaccinated during the pandemic, leaving them at risk of serious diseases such as measles and polio.
Rapidly circulating misinformation around the topic of vaccination adds to this threat.
In this context, this year’s campaign will aim to build solidarity and trust in vaccination as a public good that saves lives and protects health.
To this end, the WHO will be looking for more partners to join them, with the aim of bringing people together in support of a life-saving cause.
Vaccines have brought us closer, and will bring us closer again
For over 200 years, vaccines have protected the world against diseases that threaten lives and prohibit development. With help, the WHO can progress without the burden of diseases such as smallpox and polio.
While vaccines are not a silver bullet, they will help put the world on a path where everyone can be together again.
Vaccines themselves continue to advance, bringing people closer to a world free from the likes of TB and cervical cancer, and ending suffering from childhood diseases like tetanus and measles.
Investment and new research enable groundbreaking approaches to vaccine development, which are changing the science of immunisation forever, bringing the world closer still to a healthier future. |