Immunisation is considered one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, saving millions of lives each year, and benefiting the health of the wider community through herd immunity.
Yet, there is as much reason to worry as to celebrate. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed a strong disruption in routine immunisation, leading to an increase in outbreaks of diphtheria, measles, polio, and yellow fever in over 100 countries. On the one hand, this can be explained by challenges with the supply of vaccines and the reduced availability of healthcare workers due to confinement policies, illness, and the diversion of activities to COVID-19.
But declining confidence in vaccines also played a role. Indeed, vaccine hesitancy, the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate, is a key barrier to immunisation and a major threat to global health.
