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| The
first "vaccine" a child receives, breast milk, is free and massively
reduces the chances of illness. (c)UNICEF Viet Nam\2007\Doan Bao |
This week more than 180 countries are celebrating World Immunization Week. Vaccines are a life-saving and cost effective public health intervention we often take for granted. They provide immunity against various illnesses causing death and disability that a whole new generation is lucky enough not to remember. Vaccines helped eradicate smallpox in 1977 and are on their way to eradicating polio and eliminating neonatal tetanus and measles. Newer vaccines protect against some types of pneumonia and diarrhoea (the two biggest disease-specific killers of children) and various cancers.
A fully immunized child is more likely to attend school, have greater cognitive abilities, and be a more productive member of society and less likely to be disabled.
