Preventable Diseases, Preventable Tragedies: Why Vaccines Are Essential

Today, we launch a new report covering the range of once common childhood diseases that are now either eliminated or very rare because of childhood immunisation programmes. For each disease, we explain what its symptoms and dangers are and how vaccines have greatly reduced their prevalence.

The diseases we cover are: Measles, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Diphtheria, Chickenpox, Hepatitis B, Polio, Mumps, Meningococcal Disease, Rubella (German Measles), Haemophilus Influenza B (Hib), and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

We also briefly mention two diseases (influenza and COVID-19) whose severity has been changed by regular vaccination of adults.

In the second half of the report, we explain what vaccination is and how it works, discuss side effects of vaccines and finally why vaccine uptake is falling in some countries.

Click here to read the report.