World Immunization Week: Protect every person from vaccine-preventable diseases

Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest achievements. Over the last 50 years, essential vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives. That's six lives a minute, every day, for five decades.

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"In these 50 years, vaccination accounts for 40 percent of the improvement in infant survival, and more children now live to see their first birthday and beyond than at any other time in human history. Measles vaccine alone accounts for 60 percent of those lives saved."

This data from the World Health Organization (WHO) website highlights the immense progress of the immunization program. It also shows the urgent work that remains to be done to protect every person from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).

This year, the theme of World Immunization Week from April 24 to 30 is "Immunization for all is humanly possible." The week should also remind us that these figures represent the children who lived to celebrate birthdays, grandparents who survived flu seasons, and mothers who safely delivered babies protected from tetanus.