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Vaccines are at the very top of the list of public health's greatest success stories,
saving millions of lives annually. Precisely because of the enormous impact of immunization,
we must do more to increase the use of existing vaccines and to accelerate the development
of new vaccines. No parent should experience their child dying from a vaccine preventable
disease. However, every year one and a half million children die before reaching their
fifth birthday around the world, having not been adequately immunized. Preventing infectious
diseases within the United States and around the world is a key objective of the Global
Health Strategy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As our National
Vaccine Plan acknowledges, access to safe and effective vaccines is one of the most
powerful tools we have to stop the spread of disease and keep Americans safe and healthy.
Developing and disseminating vaccines cannot be done by one agency or country alone. As
the MenAfriVac story demonstrates, successes come from widespread collaborations across
public and private sectors. Ensuring access to vaccines also requires putting an end to
disproven and unfounded claims about the safety and purpose of vaccinations. Although scientifically
debunked, the belief that certain childhood vaccinations lead to autism has resulted in
hundreds of thousands of children around the world being denied lifesaving immunizations,
even in wealthy communities. For example in Nigeria, a mass boycott followed false stories
about the dangers of polio vaccines, leading to the spread of new polio infections in the
country, and in a dozen other countries as far away as Indonesia. The medical truth is
proven and straightforward: vaccines are safe and effective, and they save hundreds of thousands
of lives every day. Yet, while we celebrate the successes of vaccines, we need to continue
to work towards universal access to existing vaccines. In this way, every person in the
world can receive the full benefit of vaccines, the greatest contribution that science has
ever made to public health.