🧒🏿 40% of the reduction in child mortality is thanks to vaccines

• Vaccines have prevented 154 million deaths since 1974, of which 146 million were children.
• Thus, vaccines account for 40 percent of the reduction in child mortality.
• The measles vaccine stands out, having prevented about 93.7 million deaths.

Millions of saved lives

A recent study by the World Health Organization marks the 50th anniversary of their Expanded Programme on Immunization and analyzes the profound impact of vaccines on global health since 1974, reports Vox.

This research, led by WHO epidemiologist and vaccine expert Naor Bar-Zeev, shows that vaccines have saved 154 million lives, of which 146 million were children under 5 years, including 101 million infants.

Thus, vaccines account for 40 percent of the reduction in child mortality. From one in ten newborns dying before their first birthday in 1974, this number had decreased by more than two-thirds by 2021.

The research group combined various data sources to track the effects of vaccinations across continents and decades. They used UN world population projections, WHO vaccine databases, and models from the Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium to create a historical reconstruction where vaccination did not occur.

The results highlight the enormous health gains, where for example, the measles vaccine alone averted 93.7 million deaths since 1974, followed by tetanus (28 million saved), pertussis (13.2 million), and tuberculosis (10.9 million).

Read Matt Ridley on the unexpected history of vaccines:

💉 Matt Ridley: The unexpected history and miraculous success of vaccines

At a time when the miraculous success of vaccines has transformed the battle against the pandemic it is fitting to recall the general idea, and unexpected history, behind vaccination, writes Matt Ridley, bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and How Innovation Works.

Warp NewsMatt Ridley

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