'Vaccination', 'jab' or 'injection', whatever you call it, it's all we've been talking about for two years now.
Vaccines have been key parts in preventing some of the most infectious and life-threatening diseases in human history but did you know 16,000 under-5s die each day, many from preventable diseases with vaccinations?
So let’s have a look back at the top five (non covid) vaccines that have helped change the world for children.
1. Smallpox
Smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated with the help of a vaccine.
It was considered one of the deadliest diseases in history, killing around 30% of people who got infected or leaving many with long-term issues including scarring and blindness.
The development of the smallpox vaccine is recognised as the start of the modern medical field of vaccination. Using a live cowpox virus in 1796, Edward Jenner created the vaccine, and by 1980 the WHO declared the eradication of Smallpox globally.
2. Polio
In the 1940s and 50 Polio was a huge threat. The virus can affect the spine, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
As a result of a wide-scale vaccination program first rolled out in the 1950s, eventually, the world began to eradicate polio and by the from 1988 to 2022 global cases have decreased by 99.9% through the vaccine.
But what made the vaccine more significant was that it was the first time that an inactive form of a virus was used to develop a vaccine. This type of vaccine, known as inactivated vaccines, are the kind used today for the COVID-19 vaccinations.
3. Meningitis
More than 5 million people get meningitis worldwide each year. First recorded in 1805, it is a bacterial infection that can cause swelling in tissue around the brain and spinal cord as well as blood infections and sepsis.
This disease can affect anyone, but babies, young children, and the elderly are most at risk.
It has a 50% fatality rate if left untreated, which is why the vaccine is so important.
There are two types of vaccine:
- MenB vaccine, which infants get at around 8 weeks, and then again at 16 weeks
- MenACWY, which teenagers and pre-teens in the UK receive as standard practice
Although there are not vaccines for all causes of meningitis, the vaccines that have been developed have saved millions of lives and today, meningitis is at a historic low in the world.
4. Measles, Mumps and Rubella
Commonly known as MMR, these three diseases can cause causes fever, rash, cough, and in serious cases, death.
The diseases were once thought of as 'just part of childhood' but now we know the danger and have the means to stop the spread.
Children are given the vaccine in two parts, first dose when they are one and the 2nd when they are three and four months (specific).
After two doses the MMR vaccine is effective against measles and rubella in 99% of cases, and effective in 88% of cases of mumps. For those who do catch mumps after getting the vaccine, the symptoms are usually less severe.
For people who only get one dose, the MMR vaccine is still effective in 93% of cases.
5. Hepatitis B
The hepatitis B vaccine is the first anti-cancer vaccine because it can help prevent liver cancer. Worldwide, chronic hepatitis B and C causes 80% of all liver cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer death. Therefore, a vaccine that protects against a hepatitis B infection can also help prevent liver cancer.
The Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in Europe in 1991 and consists of 3 doses given to children between the age of 0, 1–2 and 6–18 months.
Each year in the UK, around 3,000 babies are born to women who have hepatitis B infection. This infection is caused by a virus that is spread through blood and can infect your baby, so having your vaccination is important for your child long term.
WE'RE WORKING TO GET CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD VACCINATED
20 million children under one year old are missing out on basic immunisation. That’s almost one child in seven across the world. Most of those children live in just 10 countries:
Afghanistan, Angola, DRC, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa.
And within those countries, whether a child get a vaccine really comes down to their parents’ income, and whether they live close to major city. That’s why we work in remote areas around the world training health care workers to vaccinate the children most in need.
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