Immunization: Our Best Defense

By Amy Sgueglia

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have prevented more than 150 million deaths, mostly among young children, and they are considered the top contributor to increased infant survival. But vaccines are not only for children. National Immunization Awareness Month reminds us that it’s important for individuals of all ages to stay up to date on their vaccines.

Today, there are vaccines for more than 20 diseases across all age groups. In addition to saving millions of lives every year, they are a safe and cost-effective way to prevent diseases that harm people physically, socially, and economically. Immunization also brings people into the primary health care system, where they can access other health care services.

Missed immunizations can have serious consequences for a community, as evidenced by outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough. Despite the well-documented effectiveness of immunization, people miss vaccines for various reasons, including the following:

• barriers to access
• poor quality of care
• hesitancy due to misinformation or disinformation
• lack of vaccine knowledge
• inaccurate immunization records

Making vaccines accessible can be challenging in countries of all income levels. In the United States, JSI works with underserved populations, such as newly arrived migrants, to facilitate equitable access to needed vaccines. We also support mobile immunization clinics to reach people where they are, helping ensure individual and community health.

Trust and confidence are essential when it comes to immunization. People must trust that vaccines are safe and effective, and providers must be confident in their vaccine recommendations. Through initiatives like the Massachusetts Vaccine Confidence Project and the Massachusetts Adult Immunization Coalition, we help health care providers and community-based organizations become credible messengers of accurate vaccine information. We also train community health workers so they are confident in their vaccine recommendations. These educational approaches help counter the misinformation and disinformation that can cause vaccine hesitancy.

Accurate immunization records are essential for community health and efficient resource use. But different communities and clinics maintain different levels of recordkeeping. We support programs that review immunization records and translate them when needed. This helps ensure that children can attend school and people of all ages catch up on missed vaccines, reducing the risk of preventable disease outbreaks.

If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it is that we rely on each other for our individual and collective health. Immunization is an incredibly effective public health tool. We must continue our efforts to build trust in vaccines, confidence in health care providers, reliable systems for tracking and recordkeeping, and equitable access to needed immunizations. The more people vaccinated, the better health outcomes for all.