Global healthcare has made enormous progress over the past 100 years thanks to vaccines, which have been the most effective tool for preventing serious infectious diseases and have saved millions of lives.
In 1921, the first tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) was administered, and in 1974, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), which has contributed to mass vaccination against diseases such as smallpox, polio, and measles, achieving eradication and drastic reductions in these diseases.
Vaccination has led to a decrease in infant mortality, especially in children under 5 years of age, and has helped improve health equity by providing universal and free access to these health measures.
However, current challenges include inequality in vaccination coverage and anti-vaccine movements, which threaten the continuation of these achievements. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated vaccine innovation, for example with messenger RNA technology, and highlighted the importance of global vaccination to control emerging diseases.
Public Health Impact:
- - Profound reduction in vaccine-preventable diseases.
- - Estimated savings of tens of millions of lives.
- - Significant improvements in infant mortality.
- - Universal and free access to health as a right.
When COVID-19 emerged, a social movement (generally linked to far-right views) emerged against vaccines, arguing that they were bad for health, and consequently, many people did not get vaccinated.
COVID itself was a good example of how the world reacted by obtaining vaccines at very short notice, and how, thanks to them, the disease was eradicated and millions of additional deaths prevented.
Reminder on officially confirmed deaths: Official figures reported by the WHO and other sources point to approximately 6.6 million deaths by the end of 2022.
A more realistic estimate (excess mortality): Considering direct and indirect deaths, studies such as those by The Economist, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and the WHO estimate between 18 and 33 million deaths worldwide. An estimated average is around 27.4 million. And that's a lot of people, and there would have been many more if vaccines hadn't been made available quickly.
And after seeing what has happened in past and recent history, we can sadly see how the harassment of vaccines and the media dedicated to vaccine research continues in the United States, led by the head of Health and Human Services (the equivalent of a European country's Ministry of Health), denying financial resources to continue researching and advancing citizens' health.
It's a difficult-to-understand step backward, based on half-truths and outright lies, defending a way of thinking that takes us back to times past and that few expected to see again.
But that's how history goes. Extreme movements of ideas we thought were outdated are emerging everywhere, and unfortunately, they are resurfacing with force.
Democracy, truth, ethics, and other similar values are today a very valuable asset that we must preserve at all costs, and consequently, we must fight against misinformation and lies spread by social media and other environments.
We can all do something. And remaining silent is not an option.
EN 
ES