Which vaccine has saved the most infant lives during the last 50 years?
Fifty years ago, a program called the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was started with a goal of vaccinating all children around the globe against several vaccine-preventable diseases, including diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis and smallpox. Of these, smallpox has since been eradicated, meaning it no longer exists, so it can no longer cause illness. The other six diseases continue to infect people throughout the world.
However on this 50th anniversary of EPI, there is news worth celebrating. An estimated 154 million lives have been saved by vaccination since the inception of the program. That averages to about six lives every minute of every day of every year saved by vaccination! Of these, the measles vaccine is estimated to have had the greatest impact, saving about 60% of those lives — three or four of the six lives saved every minute of every day of every year. Yes, measles kills, but we can protect our babies through vaccination — more than 92 million babies who became adults have demonstrated that.
Coming in June … the first RRP Awareness Day
Have you heard of RRP? RRP stands for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. It is a disease of the respiratory tract that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). When infected, benign tumors grow along the respiratory tract, often returning after surgical removal and sometimes affecting an individual’s ability to speak or even breathe. On occasion, the infected cells transform and become malignant, leading to cancer. About 15,000 to 20,000 people are affected in the U.S., and more than 125,000 people from other countries are also affected.
On June 11, 2024, the first RRP Awareness Day will be held. With the theme of “Giving Voice to Inspire Change,” the goals of this effort, in addition to increasing knowledge and understanding about this disease among the general public, are to bring together patients, caregivers, clinicians and policymakers to provide support and build community for individuals and their families affected by this disease.
Find out more or get resources to support this effort.
Find out how climate change can affect our risk for infectious diseases
The Vaccine Education Center’s newsletter for educators, The VMP Chronicle, recently included an article that may be of interest to larger audiences. The article, titled “The risk of infectious diseases in a changing world,” discussed how changes to the climate force infectious agents to adapt for their continued survival. These adaptations, several of which are discussed in the article, can lead to more risk of disease in people.
Which vaccine has saved the most infant lives during the last 50 years?
Fifty years ago, a program called the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was started with a goal of vaccinating all children around the globe against several vaccine-preventable diseases, including diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis and smallpox. Of these, smallpox has since been eradicated, meaning it no longer exists, so it can no longer cause illness. The other six diseases continue to infect people throughout the world.
However on this 50th anniversary of EPI, there is news worth celebrating. An estimated 154 million lives have been saved by vaccination since the inception of the program. That averages to about six lives every minute of every day of every year saved by vaccination! Of these, the measles vaccine is estimated to have had the greatest impact, saving about 60% of those lives — three or four of the six lives saved every minute of every day of every year. Yes, measles kills, but we can protect our babies through vaccination — more than 92 million babies who became adults have demonstrated that.
Coming in June … the first RRP Awareness Day
Have you heard of RRP? RRP stands for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. It is a disease of the respiratory tract that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). When infected, benign tumors grow along the respiratory tract, often returning after surgical removal and sometimes affecting an individual’s ability to speak or even breathe. On occasion, the infected cells transform and become malignant, leading to cancer. About 15,000 to 20,000 people are affected in the U.S., and more than 125,000 people from other countries are also affected.
On June 11, 2024, the first RRP Awareness Day will be held. With the theme of “Giving Voice to Inspire Change,” the goals of this effort, in addition to increasing knowledge and understanding about this disease among the general public, are to bring together patients, caregivers, clinicians and policymakers to provide support and build community for individuals and their families affected by this disease.
Find out more or get resources to support this effort.
Find out how climate change can affect our risk for infectious diseases
The Vaccine Education Center’s newsletter for educators, The VMP Chronicle, recently included an article that may be of interest to larger audiences. The article, titled “The risk of infectious diseases in a changing world,” discussed how changes to the climate force infectious agents to adapt for their continued survival. These adaptations, several of which are discussed in the article, can lead to more risk of disease in people.