Theme: For every generation, vaccines work
Hashtag: #VaccinesWork, #WorldImmunizationWeek Call to action: Your decision makes a difference. Get vaccinated.
Vaccines have long been one of the most powerful tools in public health.
World Immunization Week 2026
WHO
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Credits
Key messages
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- For over 200 years, vaccines have protected generation after generation. Vaccines have been so successful that many of the diseases that families once feared are now rarely seen in many parts of the world.
- Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years — not by accident, but because ordinary people made the decision to protect themselves, their children and one another. That’s 6 lives every minute, every day, for more than five decades.
- Vaccines are a proven way to prevent serious illness, safely protecting hundreds of millions of people every year. They are developed through rigorous scientific research, carefully tested, and continuously monitored for safety and efficacy.
- Families’ decisions to vaccinate their children, together with health workers’ commitment to reaching every child, have contributed to a 40% improvement in infant survival over the past 50 years and protected tens of millions of children from lifelong disabilities.
- More children now live to see their first birthday — and go to school, work, raise families, and grow old — than at any other point in history.
Vaccines protect people at every stage of life.
Vaccines are a critical part of staying healthy at every age. Today, vaccines protect people throughout their lives – from infancy through adulthood – against more than 30 infections and deadly diseases.
- In early childhood the immune systems of infants and young children are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to illness. That’s why most childhood immunizations protecting against diseases, such as diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, polio, pertussis, rotavirus, rubella, and tetanus, are scheduled within the first two years of life.
- In adolescence boosters are necessary to maintain immunity for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, and additional vaccines address emerging health risks, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and meningitis.
During pregnancy vaccination plays a vital role in protecting both mother and baby. By receiving recommended vaccines, such as RSV, influenza, and COVID-19, pregnant women can pass protective antibodies to their baby before birth and help keep both of them safe.
In adulthood, people’s immune systems naturally weaken as they age, making them more prone to severe infections. Vaccines protect adults and older adults against illnesses such as COVID-19, influenza, pneumonia, and shingles—reducing the risk of severe disease and hospitalization and helping them stay healthier longer.
Vaccines targeting diseases prevalent in certain regions—such as dengue, malaria, and yellow fever—as well as those developed for outbreaks like cholera, Ebola, and mpox, are providing today’s families with the benefits of scientific advances that simply didn’t exist for previous generations.
Your decision makes a difference. Get vaccinated.
- Vaccination numbers aren’t just statistics. They represent real individuals and families making thoughtful decisions to protect themselves, their children and their communities, especially those who are unable to be vaccinated.
Each year, nearly 20 million infants miss out on at least one vaccine, including more than 14 million who never receive a single vaccine dose, mostly because they lack access. As a result, millions of children remain unprotected from dangerous diseases that vaccines could prevent.
Behind every person who receives a vaccine stands an entire system dedicated to making it possible—health workers, volunteers, scientists, governments, clinics, and schools. Yet at the heart of it all are the conversations built on patience, listening, and trust.
Some family traditions are worth passing on: now is the time to make sure everyone in the next generation benefits from lifesaving vaccines. By building trust, sharing accurate information, and strengthening confidence, we can support families to make informed decisions that protect themselves, their children, and generations to come.
At the halfway point of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), let’s create a world where fewer children die from preventable illnesses, adolescents are protected against diseases that threaten their future, and older generations enjoy longer, healthier lives. And together, we can end polio, just like smallpox nearly 50 years ago.