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GENEVA/SARAJEVO, April 27 (FENA) - With all eyes on vaccines, World Immunization Week 2021 offers an unprecedented opportunity to build public trust in the value of all vaccines and help build long-term support for immunization.
In particular, World Immunization Week 2021 will aim to: Reframe the global vaccine conversation to focus on the importance of vaccines; Highlight the many ways in which vaccines enable us to live healthy, productive lives by preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases; Demonstrate social proof that the broader public already values and trust vaccines.
Despite these longstanding benefits, low immunization levels persist. Some 20 million children miss out on life-saving vaccines annually. The poorest and marginalized children – often most in need of vaccines – continue to be the least likely to get them. Many live in countries affected by conflict, in remote areas, or where polio remains endemic.
Low immunization rates also compromise progress in areas of maternal and child health and well-being.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared vaccine hesitancy to be one of the top threats to public health. While vaccine hesitancy is as old as vaccination itself, the nature of the challenge continues to shift with the social landscape. Today, vaccine hesitancy and the ‘infodemic’ it fuels are key drivers of under-vaccination across the globe.
This year’s campaign looks to build solidarity and trust in vaccination as a public good that saves lives and protects health. To this end, we will be seeking more partners to join us, bringing people together in support of a lifesaving cause, stated the World Health Organization. The campaign lasts from 24 to 30 April, trending with the hashtag #VaccinesWork.
For over 200 years, vaccines have protected us against diseases that threaten lives and prohibit our development. With their help, we can progress without the burden of diseases like smallpox and polio, which cost humanity hundreds of millions of lives.
Whilst vaccines aren't a silver bullet, they will again help us progress on a path to a world where we can be together again. Vaccines themselves continue to advance, bringing us closer to a world free from the likes of tuberculosis and cervical cancer, and ending suffering from childhood diseases like tetanus and measles.
Investment and new research are enabling groundbreaking approaches to vaccine development, which are changing the science of immunization forever, bringing us closer still to a healthier future.
Vaccines are a critical new tool in the battle against COVID-19. Working as quickly as they can, scientists from across the world are collaborating and innovating to bring us tests, treatments and vaccines that will collectively save lives and end this pandemic.
Safe and effective vaccines will be a game-changer: but for the foreseeable future, we must continue wearing masks, physically distancing and avoiding crowds.
Together, we can end the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve a healthier world for all, stated the WHO.
(FENA) S. R.
