WHO official says vaccines prevent up to 5M deaths a year

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 May 2023 08:32

The World Health Organization's Turkey representative explains that more than 20 life-threatening diseases can be prevented with available immunizations.

A nurse gives a COVID-19 vaccine at a coronavirus disease vaccination center in La Baule, France, February 17, 2021. (Reuters)

According to a World Health Organization official, vaccination presently saves between 3.5 million and 5 million lives per year from illnesses such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles.

On the occasion of World Immunization Week, WHO's Turkey representative Batyr Berdyklychev told Turkey's Anadolu Agency: "These days we have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier.”

World Immunization Week is observed in the last week of April to emphasize the need for a collaborative effort to protect individuals from vaccine-preventable illnesses, according to Berdyklychev.

Vaccines, he claims, not only make people healthier, but also save them from sliding into poverty.

The official detailed that “health and well-being are closely linked. A sick person has less productivity, may lose income, and fall into catastrophic health expenditures. Therefore, it is estimated that vaccines will help keep approximately 24 million people from falling into poverty by 2030."

He called immunization "one of the best health investments money can buy," adding that vaccine hesitancy is one of the top 10 global health threats.

According to the WHO, the main causes for vaccination hesitancy include complacency, inconvenience in acquiring vaccines, and lack of confidence.

Berdyklychev warned that childhood vaccination rates were declining globally, “Our public health systems must therefore remain vigilant to track and trace any cases of VPD (vaccine-preventable diseases), and we must remind people that every vaccine and vaccine dose counts to save lives, protect ourselves, and protect those we love.”

He further stated that scientists are working not just on novel vaccinations but also on new vaccine delivery methods to improve vaccine delivery and efficacy.

"Each year, 20 million infants do not receive a full course of even basic vaccines, and many more miss out on newer vaccines. Of these, over 13 million receive no vaccines through immunization programs – the zero-dose children,” the official said.