Overview: Special Focus Vaccine Acceptance

At the World Economic Forum in 2010, The Gates Foundation announced the “Decade of Vaccines,” a $10 billion commitment to increase access to existing and new childhood vaccines. It is estimated that this effort could save 6.4 million lives and avert 426 million illnesses [1, 2] Achieving these goals will require a significant effort among global health agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry and national governments to support vaccine development and ensure a strong infrastructure for sustainable vaccine delivery. Vaccines are one of the most important public health achievements in history, resulting in significant decreases in the prevalence of many childhood diseases. However, persistent disparities exist in the adoption of new vaccines and sustained vaccination rates in both developed and developing countries. Decreasing vaccination rates in some communities have resulted in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Disparities may be due to vaccine supply, poor infrastructure, or low prioritization of vaccines for public health spending. However, another crucial contributor to the success of vaccination programs is vaccine acceptance.