Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination

Impact of Vaccination Programs on Preventable Diseases

Liam Flemming^* Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
^*Correspondence: Liam Flemming, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, Email:

Received: 21-Apr-2023, Manuscript No. JVV-23-20418; Editor assigned: 24-Apr-2023, Pre QC No. JVV-23-20418 (PQ); Reviewed: 10-May-2023, QC No. JVV-23-20418; Revised: 17-May-2023, Manuscript No. JVV-23-20418 (R); Published: 25-May-2023, DOI: 10.35248/2157-7560.23.14.527

Description

Vaccines have been a powerful tool in the prevention of infectious diseases, contributing to the significant reduction in morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to recognize and respond to specific infectious agents, either by introducing live, attenuated, or inactivated pathogens, or by using components of the pathogen, such as proteins or DNA, to stimulate an immune response. The epidemiology of vaccines is the study of the distribution and determinants of vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine coverage, vaccine efficacy and effectiveness, and the impact of vaccination programs on the burden of disease.

Vaccine preventable diseases

Vaccine-preventable diseases are infections that can be prevented by vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 26 vaccine-preventable diseases, which include childhood diseases, such as measles, mumps, and rubella, as well as diseases that affect adults, such as influenza and pneumococcal disease. Vaccine-preventable diseases continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in low and middle income countries. The introduction of vaccines has led to significant reductions in the burden of these diseases, but some of them continue to cause outbreaks and epidemics in areas with low vaccine coverage.

Vaccine coverage

Vaccine coverage refers to the proportion of the population that has received the recommended number of doses of a vaccine. High vaccine coverage is essential to achieve herd immunity, which occurs when a high proportion of the population is vaccinated, reducing the transmission of the infectious agent and protecting those who are not vaccinated. Vaccine coverage varies widely between countries and regions, and even within countries, depending on factors such as socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy, which refers to the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines, has emerged as a significant challenge to achieving high vaccine coverage and controlling vaccinepreventable diseases.

Vaccine efficacy and effectiveness

Vaccine efficacy refers to the ability of a vaccine to prevent infection or disease in a controlled clinical trial setting. Vaccine effectiveness, on the other hand, refers to the ability of a vaccine to prevent infection or disease in the real-world setting. Vaccine effectiveness is influenced by factors such as vaccine coverage, vaccine storage and handling, the circulating strains of the infectious agent, and the age and immune status of the population. The effectiveness of some vaccines, such as influenza vaccine, can vary widely from season to season and between populations. The monitoring of vaccine effectiveness is essential to assess the impact of vaccination programs and to guide policy decisions.

Impact of vaccination programs

The impact of vaccination programs on the burden of vaccinepreventable diseases can be measured in different ways, such as the reduction in the incidence, hospitalization, and mortality rates of the disease, and the cost-effectiveness of the vaccination program. The impact of vaccination programs can also be assessed by comparing the burden of disease in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations or by using modeling techniques to predict the impact of different vaccination scenarios. The impact of vaccination programs is not limited to the prevention of the target disease but can also have indirect effects, such as the reduction in the circulation of other infectious agents that share the same transmission routes or the reduction in healthcare costs associated with the treatment of vaccine-preventable diseases.