Asabea Britton: “We should never take vaccines for granted”

This is a chronicle. Opinions and positions are those of the writer.

154 million lives. A number so extensive that it is difficult to take in. But so many lives have been saved in the last 50 years thanks to vaccinations. That’s three million lives a year – completely unique lives with their own history. Six people who every minute for five decades have been allowed to remain on earth and complete their lives thanks to vaccines.

This year marks 50 years since WHO and Unicef ​​introduced the global childhood vaccination programme. Vaccinations have contributed to the fact that today we live in a world where more children than ever get to experience their fifth birthday. It is something amazing that we should rejoice in and cherish. Never take for granted.

We have completely eradicated diseases such as smallpox and almost eradicated polio, which previously contributed to both fear and suffering in our long country. The vaccine not only saves a life, but each person who vaccinates contributes to a global herd immunity that reduces the risk of diseases spreading to those who, for various reasons, cannot or do not want to vaccinate.

Misinformation blocks a distrust of vaccinations

As a nurse and midwife, I unfortunately see a trend where misinformation fuels a distrust of vaccinations in general. I am completely for free choice, to be able to make an informed choice myself. But I wish that it should then be precisely informed, not based on speculation, fear and loose opinion. To do so is to risk 50 years of successful collective work to reduce suffering for people worldwide.

Children are particularly vulnerable to diseases, so vaccinations are especially important for them. Unicef ​​plays a crucial role here, not only by distributing vaccines worldwide, but also by informing about the value of vaccines. Busting myths and educating continuously and evidence-based is a work that constantly needs to continue. It became painfully clear in recent years when vaccinations stagnated globally, only to fall back to the 2008 level during the pandemic.

A total of 67 million children did not receive the vaccines they should have received between 2019 and 2021, and 48 million children received no vaccine at all. The decrease in vaccinated children threatens not only the individual’s quality of life, but also the progress made in public health in recent decades. Disease outbreaks that could have been avoided not only mean unnecessary suffering for those affected, but also negatively burden healthcare and the economy.

Getting vaccination rates to increase again is a multifaceted issue, but an important part is education. We need to strengthen confidence that vaccines are thoroughly tested with rigorous evidence for both their benefits and efficacy before they are distributed widely. 154 million lives have been saved in 50 years. It is a tremendous success.

Let’s not be so naively privileged that we forget where we started and what it took to get here.

/Asabea Britton, Leg. Midwife, influencer and Unicef ​​ambassador

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