Each year the last week of April is reserved for recognizing the importance of immunizations and their lifesaving and life-prolonging benefits. World Immunization Week aims to remind us all that vaccines are one of humanity’s greatest achievements and that “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible”.
Since Edward Jenner developed the first-ever vaccine in 1796 for smallpox, the global scientific community has developed many more effective vaccines. As of 2023, vaccines are available to treat thirty-three diseases. The positive effects of immunization are truly extraordinary – the World Health Organization estimates that since 1974, vaccines have saved approximately 154 million lives, or 6 lives per minute during these past fifty years.
Sign with direction arrow ‘Vaccines’, Ipswich hospital, Suffolk, England, UK – NHS Foundation Trust. Credit: Geographyphotos/Universal Images Group 
Jaume Ferran I Clua (Jaime Ferran). Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Measles Virus. Credit: CAVALLINI JAMES/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
MMR vaccination. Credit: BSIP Universal Images Group 
MMR vaccination. Credit: BSIP Universal Images Group 
Calmette, Albert Leon Charles (1863 – 1933) ; French bacteriologist. Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group 
Children Vaccinate against COVID-19 and Common Diseases in Colombia. Credit: Chepa Beltran/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group 
Large quantities of Corona Virus vaccination bottles concept. Credit: FreelanceImages/Universal Images Group 
Polio Virus. Credit: NIH-NIAID/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
France: Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and microbiologist, in his laboratory. Oil on canvas, Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905), 1885. Credit: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group 
St. Paul, Minnesota. Billboard with message to get your covid booster shot. Credit: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group 
Jonas Salk. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Flu viral infection. Credit: CAVALLINI JAMES/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
Vaccination of 5-11 year olds and rapid serological test in a vaccination center in the Val de Marne. Credit: Morcillo/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
Culture of influenza virus. Credit: LPN/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
Coronavirus COVID-19. Credit: LPN/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group 
Edward Jenner 1749-1823. Credit: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group 
Walmart’s mobile wellness tour offering flu vaccines, immunizations, boosters. Credit: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group 
HIV virus. Credit: NIH-NIAID/Image Point FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group
Some of history’s greatest immunization achievements include Louis Pasteur’s anthrax vaccine in 1881; Jame Ferran y Clua’s first vaccine for cholera developed during 1884-1885; the first vaccine for tuberculosis in 1921 by Albert Calmette; and Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine released in 1955.
More recently, the life-saving vaccines developed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic have been administered to more than 5.5 billion people worldwide, more than 72% of the global population. The National Institutes of Health estimates that COVID-19 vaccines have saved between 14 and 20 million lives since their release in late 2020.
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Sources
World Health Organization
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-immunization-week/2025
Our World in Data; February, 2024; Vaccination by: Samantha Vanderslott, Saloni Dattani, Fiona Spooner, and Max Roser
National Institutes of Health
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9537923
The New York Times, May 3, 2023; Tracking Coronavirus Vaccinations Around the World by Josh Holder
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html