World Immunization Day 2023: Date, History, 5 Facts About Vaccines

World Immunization Day 2023: Annually, World Immunization Day is observed on November 10. It is observed to raise awareness about the long-term preventative effects of vaccination and the numerous diseases that can be averted. Neglecting immunization will inevitably result in costly medical expenses attributable to a disease that could have been simply averted with a low-tech, economical vaccine injection. Vaccines also contribute to the eradication of pandemics such as the one that has infected millions of people with COVID-19 for the past two years. On World Immunization Day, it is essential to inform the public about the significance of vaccination.

World Immunization Day 2023: History

The practice of immunization has its origins in ancient times. Buddhist priests in China consumed snake venom to acquire immunity to snake bites as early as the eleventh century. To acquire immunity to smallpox, they would apply the cowpox virus to a tear in their skin.

Edward Jenner is widely recognized as the progenitor of vaccinology. He administered the vaccinia virus (cowpox) to a 13-year-old child in 1796 and demonstrated how to acquire immunity to smallpox. In 1796, the initial smallpox vaccine was developed. The subsequent widespread administration of the smallpox vaccination throughout the 18th and 19th centuries led to the disease’s eradication worldwide in 1979.

In 1897, another physician, Louis Pasteur, developed the inactivated anthrax vaccine through his research on the cholera virus. Vaccination against cholera was consequently devised.

There was significant growth in the domain of vaccine research and development throughout the 20th century. A considerable number of individuals were developing immunity to maladies that were previously fatal. Rapid innovations and discoveries resulted from techniques for cultivating viruses in the laboratory, including the creation of the polio vaccine. Researchers also created vaccines to treat various childhood illnesses like measles, mumps, and rubella.

Even though immunization programs have been shown to have big health benefits, there was a sudden increase in lawsuits about vaccines. This led to fewer companies making vaccines, which meant that vaccine manufacturers made less money. A portion of this anti-vaccine sentiment and decline in vaccine production ceased in 1986, when the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established in the United States. Nevertheless, despite its efforts, it failed to entirely eradicate the prevailing anti-vaccination sentiment, as substantial populations of such individuals continue to persist globally.

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5 Facts About Vaccines

Vaccines preserve life.

Vaccines contribute to the annual prevention of over 2.5 million fatalities.

“Herd immunity” is produced by vaccines.

This implies that an individual who has not received the disease’s vaccine is less likely to contract it if the majority of the population has been immunized against it, as the disease will not be transmitted.

Vaccinations reduced fatalities from measles.

Vaccines contributed to a 78% reduction in global measles-related fatalities between 2000 and 2008.

A reduction of 99% in the incidence of meningitis

Since the introduction of the vaccine in 1988, the incidence of bacterial meningitis has decreased by 99 percent.

Certain vaccines are administered via oral route.

Not all vaccines are administered via injection; some are also administered orally.

World Immunization Day 2023: Date