Vaccines

The sun had just risen on a Sunday morning in August as Irwan Hakim, a community clinic nurse, strode through the streets of Kerayaan, a remote village in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. With a megaphone pressed to his mouth, Irwan broadcast his message: Immunize your children today. Head nurse for the island of Kerayaan, and colleagues…

This case study provides insight on how to positively impact vaccine attitudes by applying data insights, testing and scaling online vaccine communication interventions in India. Published through a partnership between UNICEF, Meta, the Yale Institute for Global Health and the Public Good Projects, this case study highlights the value of regional…

The world is facing a red alert for children’s health: Routine vaccination coverage dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. UNICEF’s latest report, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For every child, vaccination , explores the reasons behind this red alert and the steps we as a global community must take to make sure that no child is…, Their stories are powerful examples of one of humanity’s greatest public health achievements: vaccination, for every child. A health centre. An immunization campaign. A camp for internally displaced people.   These are the settings where children like Marwan, Hind and Iman have been immunized for decades. Protected from disease, they’re far more…, How the COVID-19 pandemic set back immunization rates, The pandemic placed unprecedented demands on global health systems. To try and cope with the crisis, a lot of health systems were forced to divert scarce resources away from providing routine care, which includes immunization efforts. The demands that were placed on health workers were extraordinary. As well as being expected to handle a huge…, Even before the pandemic, the warning signs were there, Most zero-dose children live in the poorest and most marginalized parts of the world, where historically primary health care systems have been ill-equipped to reach these children. The health systems operate with limited resources and suffer from a lack of skilled health workers. And for those health workers who do work in these communities, they…, How poverty contributes to low vaccination rates, Poverty has a profound impact on whether a child has access to vaccines. Many of the growing number of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children live in settings where they face significant economic barriers. Globally, in the poorest households, just over 1 in 5 children are zero dose; in the wealthiest, it is 1 in 20. These zero-dose and under-…, Conflict and displacement are having a devastating effect, Instability and violence – the hallmarks of conflict – are significantly hindering children’s opportunities to be immunized. In 2018, 40 per cent of the world’s zero-dose children lived in fragile or conflict-affected settings.   Reaching children with health services in these settings is very challenging. Health workers themselves are often…, Vaccine misinformation and mistrust is spreading alarmingly, The decision to vaccinate a child depends in part on trust. A parent or caregiver must have faith in the health care system, vaccine producers and government health institutions. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy was identified as one of the top 10 threats to global health.   There are now worrying signs that in many countries…, Women health workers are not being sufficiently empowered, As health workers, women are often on the frontline, administering vaccines to the children that need them most. But in most parts of the world, they’re often low-paid and denied opportunities for training and professional growth. Although women form the bulk of the health workforce, they have long been underrepresented in leadership roles. Part…, Vaccinate every child through effective immunization programmes and catch-up campaigns,   Catch-up on the vaccination of children missed during the pandemic. 67 million children missed out entirely or partially on routine immunization during the pandemic. These children are moving past the age when they would normally be vaccinated. Urgent action and tailored immunization campaigns are needed to reach them, backed by sufficient…, Strengthen confidence in vaccination  , Engage effectively with communities. It’s essential to build confidence in vaccines. If we’re going to boost global vaccination rates, understanding specific attitudes towards the safety and value of vaccination in any given community is critical. That requires strengthened engagement and leaning on interventions designed and delivered by trusted…, Invest in immunization and health  , Invest in primary health care. It is vital to prioritize investment in primary health care. Effective vaccination campaigns depend upon strong and well-resourced health care systems. Funding needs to be prioritized to ensure equitable access, especially for underserved communities. Even in a time of tight budgets, the high returns on investment…, Build resilient health systems , Integrate services. Integrating childhood immunization into strengthened primary health is essential to sustainably reach the goal of vaccinating every child. That means vaccination become a routine part of a child’s upbringing.   Improve disease surveillance. Better data collection helps to monitor rates of immunization and track the spread of…, For Every Child, Vaccination T H E S TAT E O F T H E W O R L D S C H I L D R E N 2 0 2 3 Published by UNICEF since 1980, The State of the Worlds Children report seeks to deepen knowledge and raise awareness of key issues affecting children, and advocates for solutions that improve childrens lives. Published by: UNICEF Innocenti Global Office of…

This case study provides insight on how to positively impact vaccine attitudes by applying data insights, testing and scaling online vaccine communication interventions in Indonesia. Published through a partnership between UNICEF, Meta, the Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) and the Public Good Projects (PGP), this case study offers lessons…

When Camsus Joseph became pregnant, she decided to leave Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Joseph moved back to her home village, Toirac, in the southwest of the country. For her, the instability and violence in Port-au-Prince was overwhelming. Joseph also wanted to be closer to her family. For the time being her husband, Claudy Delice, stayed…, Serving a community recovering from an earthquake, This region continues to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake and a longstanding lack of infrastructure. That presents significant challenges when it comes to providing primary health care services to children like Anne-Djounaïka.   A street scene in the centre of Les Cayes, a small city in the south of Haiti that was badly impacted by the…, Challenging circumstances in Haiti's capital, Back in Port-au-Prince, health workers are faced with difficult circumstances. The aftermath of natural disasters, political instability, violent protests over price hikes, fuel shortages and continued clashes between armed groups have all served to increase the challenges.   Motorcyclists and other drivers crowd around a gas pump at a station in…

Vaccines save millions of lives each year. The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are a crucial step in helping us get back to doing more of the things we enjoy with the people we love. We’ve gathered the latest expert information to answer some of the most common questions about COVID-19 vaccines. Keep checking back as we will…, What are the benefits of getting vaccinated?, Vaccines save millions of lives each year and a COVID-19 vaccine could save yours. The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, providing strong protection against serious illness and death. WHO reports that unvaccinated people have at least 10 times higher risk of death from COVID-19 than someone who has been vaccinated.  It is important to be…, Who should be vaccinated first?, Each country must identify priority populations, which WHO recommends are frontline health workers (to protect health systems) and those at highest risk of death due to COVID-19, such as older adults and people with certain medical conditions. Other essential workers, such as teachers and social workers, should then be prioritized, followed by…, When shouldn’t you be vaccinated against COVID-19?, If you have any questions about whether you should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, speak to your healthcare provider. At present, people with the following health conditions should not receive a COVID-19 vaccine to avoid any possible adverse effects: If you have a history of severe allergic reactions to any ingredients of a COVID-19 vaccine. If you…, Should I get vaccinated if I already had COVID-19?, Yes, you should get vaccinated even if you’ve previously had COVID-19. While people who recover from COVID-19 may develop natural immunity to the virus, it is still not certain how long that immunity lasts or how well it protects you against COVID-19 reinfection. Vaccines offer more reliable protection, especially against severe illness and death…, Which COVID-19 vaccine is best for me?, All WHO-approved vaccines have been shown to be highly effective at protecting you against severe illness and death from COVID-19. The best vaccine to get is the one most readily available to you. You can find a list of those approved vaccines on WHO’s site .   Remember, if your vaccination involves two doses, it’s important to receive both to…, How do COVID-19 vaccines work?, Vaccines work by mimicking an infectious agent – viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms that can cause a disease. This ‘teaches’ our immune system to rapidly and effectively respond against it. Traditionally, vaccines have done this by introducing a weakened form of an infectious agent that allows our immune system to build a memory of it. This…, Are COVID-19 vaccines safe?, Yes, COVID-19 vaccines have been safely used to vaccinate billions of people. The COVID-19 vaccines were developed as rapidly as possible, but they had to go through rigorous testing in clinical trials to prove that they meet internationally agreed benchmarks for safety and effectiveness. Only if they meet these standards can a vaccine receive…, How were COVID-19 vaccines developed so quickly?, Scientists were able to develop safe effective vaccines in a relatively short amount of time due to a combination of factors that allowed them to scale up research and production without compromising safety:  Because of the global pandemic, there was a larger sample size to study and tens of thousands of volunteers stepped forward  Advancements in…, What are the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines?, Vaccines are designed to give you immunity without the dangers of getting the disease. Not everyone does, but it’s common to experience some mild-to-moderate side effects that go away within a few days on their own. Some of the mild-to-moderate side effects you may experience after vaccination include: Arm soreness at the injection site Mild fever…, How do I find out more about a particular COVID-19 vaccine?, You can find out more about COVID-19 vaccines on WHO’s website .  , Can I stop taking precautions after being vaccinated?, Keep taking precautions to protect yourself, family and friends if there is still COVID-19 in your area, even after getting vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against serious illness and death, but no vaccine is 100% effective.   The vaccines offer less protection against infection from the Omicron variant, which is now the…, Can I still get COVID-19 after I have been vaccinated? What are ‘breakthrough cases’?, A number of vaccinated people may get infected with COVID-19, which is called a breakthrough infection. In such cases, people are much more likely to only have milder symptoms. Vaccine protection against serious illness and death remains strong. With more infectious virus variants such as Omicron, there have been more breakthrough infections. That…, How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?, According to WHO, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines wanes around 4-6 months after the primary series of vaccination has been completed. Taking a booster to strengthen your protection against serious disease is recommended if it is available to you. , Do the COVID-19 vaccines protect against variants?, The WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines continue to be highly effective at preventing severe illness and death. However, the vaccines offer less protection against infection from Omicron, which is the dominant variant globally. That's why it's important to get vaccinated and continue measures to reduce the spread of the virus – which helps to reduce…, Do I need to get a booster shot?  , Booster doses play an important role in protecting against severe disease, hospitalization and death.  WHO recommends that you take all COVID-19 vaccine doses recommended to you by your health authority as soon as it is your turn, including a booster dose if recommended.  Booster shots should be given first to high priority groups. Data shows that…, What do we know about the bivalent COVID-19 booster doses that have been developed to target Omicron?, Bivalent COVID-19 booster shots have now been developed with both the original strain of the coronavirus and a strain of Omicron. These have been designed to better match the Omicron subvariants that have proven to be particularly transmissible. Lab studies have shown that these doses help you to mount a higher antibody response against Omicron.…, Can I receive different types of COVID-19 vaccines?  , Yes, however, policies on mixing vaccines vary by country. Some countries have used different vaccines for the primary vaccine series and the booster. Check with your local health authorities for guidance where you live and speak with your healthcare provider if you have any questions on what is best for you. , I’m pregnant. Can I get vaccinated against COVID-19?, Yes, you can get vaccinated if you are pregnant. COVID-19 during pregnancy puts you at higher risk of becoming severely ill and of giving birth prematurely.  Many people around the world have been vaccinated against COVID-19 while pregnant or breastfeeding. No safety concerns have been identified for them or their babies. Getting vaccinated while…, I’m breastfeeding. Should I get vaccinated against COVID-19?, Yes, if you are breastfeeding you should take the vaccine as soon as it is available to you. It is very safe and there is no risk to the mother or baby. None of the current COVID-19 vaccines have live virus in them, so there is no risk of you transmitting COVID-19 to your baby through your breastmilk from the vaccine. In fact, the antibodies that…, Can COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility?, No, you may have seen false claims on social media, but there is no evidence that any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines, can affect fertility in women or men. You should get vaccinated if you are currently trying to become pregnant., Could a COVID-19 vaccine disrupt my menstrual cycle?, Some people have reported experiencing a disruption to their menstrual cycle after getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Although data is still limited, research is ongoing into the impact of vaccines on menstrual cycles. Speak to your healthcare provider if you have concerns or questions about your periods., Should my child or teen get a COVID-19 vaccine?, An increasing number of vaccines have been approved for use in children. They’ve been made available after examining the data on the safety and efficacy of these vaccines, and millions of children have been safely vaccinated around the world. Some COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for children from the age of 6 months old. Check with your local…, How do I talk to my kids about COVID-19 vaccines?, News about COVID-19 vaccines is flooding our daily lives and it is only natural that curious young minds will have questions – lots of them. Read our explainer article for help explaining what can be a complicated topic in simple and reassuring terms. It’s important to note that from the millions of children that have so far been vaccinated…, My friend or family member is against COVID-19 vaccines. How do I talk to them?, The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a huge step forward in our global effort to end the pandemic. This is exciting news, but there are still some people who are skeptical or hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines. Chances are you know a person who falls into this category. We spoke to Dr. Saad Omer, Director at the Yale Institute…, How can I protect my family until we are all vaccinated?, Safe and effective vaccines are a game changer, but even once vaccinated we need to continue taking precautions for the time being to protect ourselves and others. Variants like Omicron have proven that although COVID-19 vaccines are very effective at preventing severe disease, they’re not enough to stop the spread of the virus alone. The most…, Can COVID-19 vaccines affect your DNA?, No, none of the COVID-19 vaccines affect or interact with your DNA in any way. Messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines teach the cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response inside the body. This response produces antibodies which keep you protected against the virus. mRNA is different from DNA and only stays inside the cell for about 72…, Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain any animal products in them?, No, none of the WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines contain animal products., I’ve seen inaccurate information online about COVID-19 vaccines. What should I do?, Sadly, there is a lot of inaccurate information online about the COVID-19 virus and vaccines. A lot of what we’re experiencing is new to all of us, so there may be some occasions where information is shared, in a non-malicious way, that turns out to be inaccurate. Misinformation in a health crisis can spread paranoia, fear and stigmatization. It…, What is COVAX?, COVAX is a global effort committed to the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines around the world. No country will be safe from COVID-19 until all countries are protected. There are 190 countries and territories engaged in the COVAX Facility, which account for over 90 per cent of the world’s population. Working with CEPI,…

The global marathon to eradicate polio is on its final lap. After millennia of living with poliovirus and the suffering the paralysis causes, today, nearly everyone lives in a polio-free country.  Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, the number of people afflicted with polio has declined by 99.9%. The finishing line…, To succeed in eradicating polio, we must act now. , The coming five years are crucial – they may provide the last opportunity to eradicate the disease. Cases of polio have been recently reemerging worldwide, including in Malawi. There are a number of factors behind those outbreaks, including conflict and displacement, and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to vaccine…, Protecting children from a polio outbreak in Malawi, Over the past few decades, Malawi has illustrated the incredible strides that have been made. Until November 2021, the nation had gone three decades without a recorded case of wild polio. But during that month, a 3-year-old child, living in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe, was diagnosed with wild polio. The virus affected the nerve cells in her spinal…, Millions of children in Malawi have been protected from polio, Since the vaccination drive began, about 9 million children in Malawi have received a polio vaccination. Much of the credit for that response lies in the hands of health care workers. Health surveillance assistants Dessie Chisangwi (left) and Matilda Mlumpwa (right) are helping to lead the door-to-door polio vaccine campaign. Health surveillance…, How technology is playing an important role in this polio eradication campaign, A successful immunization campaign requires knowing which communities have low vaccination rates. To help with that data collection, a smartphone app called Rapid Pro is being used. Health care workers are able to track things like how many children were or weren’t vaccinated against polio in a household and how many vaccinations were administered…, The addition of cold storage facilities has been essential, In addition to expanding the availability of phone technology and supplying the polio vaccines, UNICEF has also installed 270 new vaccine refrigerators in Malawi. That’s helped to support cold chain technicians like Joackim Ghambi. He works in the Zomba district office in the southern part of the country.  Scenes from inside a vaccine cold storage…, On the frontline, protecting children from polio, As the polio vaccines reach communities across Malawi, they’re then in the hands of health workers like Beza Belayneh. He’s a consultant with the World Health Organization and originally from Ethiopia. He’s been working in Malawi for a number of years now and is stationed at St. Joseph’s Hospital, just west of the city of Blantyre.   Beza Belayneh…, These are the caregivers that are protecting their children, Tionge Wittika is among the caregivers protecting their child from polio. She brought her 4-month-old daughter to St. Joseph’s Hospital to get the vaccine.   Tionge Wittika holds her daughter Arianna after she received her dose of the oral polio vaccine. Tionge Wittika holds her daughter Arianna after she received her dose of the oral polio…, To prevent further outbreaks, more bold action is needed, The fact is there is no cure for polio. As long as the disease exists, it’s a threat to children everywhere. But as this campaign in Malawi shows, there is a way to help prevent it. That’s by making sure that all children, wherever they are in the world, have access to the polio vaccine.   As a global community, we are so close to achieving a…

Uganda is home to a large population of refugees, many fleeing conflict and instability in bordering South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over 1.5 million people have sought safety in the country. More than half of them are children. The Palorinya Refugee Settlement, in the northwest of the country, is home to some of these…, The community health workers leading the effort, To reach students and their communities with the COVID-19 vaccines they need, village health teams are leading the effort. Supported by UNICEF and partner organizations, the teams work across 13 districts in this region of Uganda, aiming to provide vaccines to at least 80 per cent of the refugee population.  The third phase of the COVID…, How the mobilization campaign is creating awareness, Awareness of the various risks associated with COVID-19 is rising among these communities. Stanley Karamira, who is a health worker, attributes much of that success to the Humanitarian Buffer, which airs messaging on radio talk shows that feature district leaders, church leaders and prominent members of the community. “We also have many posters in…

NEW YORK/COPENHAGEN 16 August 2022 — UNICEF has awarded a contract for the first ever supply of a malaria vaccine to GSK with a value of up to USD 170 million [1] . The landmark award will lead to 18 million doses of RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) being available over the next three years, potentially saving thousands of lives every year. In 2020, nearly half…

Communities perched on hilltops, Doti District lies in a remote corner of far-western Nepal. Lush green meadows lie in the valleys here, beneath the hills that sweep their way through this region. As you look up from those valleys, you see communities in the distance, perched on top of the hills. Reaching those communities with health care services isn’t straightforward. Bringing…, A challenging journey, Every month, Basanta and her colleague, Tilak Raj Joshi, will carefully place vaccines into a carrier box in the cold room at their healthcare centre. They’re then faced with a difficult journey, often on foot. “Some of these places can take up to three hours to walk to, one way. The roads here are not paved, and taking vehicles can be dangerous,…, Communicating effectively about vaccines, Despite the challenges faced on the journey, Basanta believes it’s worth it. For her, it’s rewarding to see how positive people are in the municipality of Jorayal about vaccines. She believes that’s primarily a consequence of effective communication and counseling from health workers like herself, who build trust in these services. A community…, A thankful community, Durga Ghartimagar is one of the mothers that is thankful for the long journeys these healthcare workers make to reach these communities. She knows firsthand what it’s like. Durga has walked over three hours to reach the vaccination clinic in the village of Upparkot, which lies in the Jorayal District. Durga Ghartimagar on the final stretch of her…, A mothers’ group meeting to build trust, To help build trust in vaccines in this community, there’s a monthly mothers’ group meeting. Female Community Health Volunteers facilitate conversations, which help to educate caregivers about the various aspects of child and maternal health. “It’s easy when everyone is there, in person, to talk about why children need to get these vaccines,” says…, A robust cold chain is crucial, Getting vaccines to children in these remote communities requires a strong cold chain. The cold chain refers to a series of precisely coordinated events in temperature-controlled environments to store, manage and transport the doses. To facilitate this, UNICEF has been working closely with Nepal’s government and key partners like Gavi, to expand…

For the first time in decades, we’re witnessing a large sustained backslide in the number of children receiving routine immunizations. In many ways, that’s attributable to pandemic disruptions, but there are other factors at play, including conflict, displacement and increasing vaccine misinformation.  The consequences of this global backslide are…, Tajikistan is one of the countries UNICEF is focusing on, The mountainous nation borders China to its east and Afghanistan to the south. Tajikistan went a decade without a case of polio emerging but that changed at the beginning of 2021, when the first case of paralysis from polio was detected. In the months following, 34 children were paralyzed.   UNICEF, as a partner of the Global Polio Eradication…, A second set of twins are protected, Fotima and Zuhro aren’t the only twins to have been vaccinated against polio. There’s also 6-year-old Magfirat and her sister Maifat. Wearing matching dresses, and with a shared passion for creative endeavors, it’s in some ways hard to tell them apart.   Magfirat and Marifat are photographed with their grandmother, Shamsiya Muzafarova. Magfirat…, Community health centers and health workers have led the vaccine drive, Community health centers in Tajikistan have played an important role in increasing the rate of immunization in the country among children.   That includes the Dushanbe Health Center, situated close to the bank of the Varzob river, which runs directly through the nation’s capital, Dushanbe.   6-year-old Muso Ahliddinzoda gets vaccinated with his…, How the COVID-19 pandemic presented an additional challenge , Because of COVID-19, health workers at the Dushanbe Health Center had to rethink how exactly they provided healthcare while keeping everyone safe.   “During the pandemic we divided the clinic into two parts,” says health worker Sayohat Mamadjonova. “A red zone for those who came for immunization and had a fever or COVID-19 symptoms. The other part…, The results of Tajikistan's vaccination campaign are clear, Thanks to the hard work of these health workers, the willingness of so many caregivers to get their children vaccinated, and the efforts of UNICEF alongside its partners, in addition to the Tajikistan government, the future now looks brighter. As of April 2022, the World Health Organization declared that polio is no longer circulating in the…

The Ashti camp is situated in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It’s about 150 miles east of the region’s capital, Erbil, and lies close to the border with Iran. The camp has been built to eventually accommodate 1,000 displaced families.   A mobile health team, supported by UNICEF, has arrived at Ashti. The team carries cold vaccine carrier boxes on…