5 diseases that are now preventable thanks to vaccines

Vaccines are one of humanity’s greatest achievements; they save six lives every minute! Thanks to vaccines many diseases are now preventable today. 

Here is a closer look. 

1. Smallpox 

At one point in history, smallpox was “one of the most devastating diseases to humanity.” With the first cases dating as early as 1350 BCE, the disease caused millions of deaths.  

But in 1796, Edward Jenner created the smallpox vaccine — the first successful vaccine to be developed. Today, thanks to the power of that vaccine, investments, action, and advocacy, smallpox was officially eradicated in 1980.  Smallpox is the only infectious disease to achieve this distinction, making it one of the most notable successes in public health. 

2. Polio 

While polio has existed since pre-historic times, it was not formally recognized until 1840. Polio is an infectious disease that primarily impacts children under five years old, The disease is spread from person-to-person via contaminated food or water or “the faecal-oral route.”  The disease itself will multiply in the intestine and invade an individual’s nervous system, leading to paralysis. One in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis. 

Polio even became “the most feared disease in the world” in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. But by the 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk created the first successful polio vaccine. Eventually, Dr. Albert Sabin created second polio vaccine.  

Since the introduction of these vaccines, polio cases have decreased by over 99%, thanks to the efforts of vaccination campaigns and strengthened disease surveillance. Polio is near eradication globally, but reaching the remaining strongholds of the disease is crucial to preventing a resurgence.  

3. Measles  

Measles is highly contagious and can lead to severe complications or death. This airborne disease is transmitted when a person infected with measles coughs, sneezes, or breathes on another. An estimated 107,500 people died from measles in 2023, most of them children under the age of five. 

Prior to the vaccine in 1963, there were an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. 

Thanks to the vaccine and vaccination campaigns, over 60 million deaths from measles were averted between 2000-2023.  

4. Tetanus 

Tetanus is caused by an infection of a cut or injury that contains the bacteria that causes tetanus. The “spores” of the bacterium that causes it can be found virtually everywhere – surfaces of skin, rusty tools, soil, and more.  Tetanus cannot be transmitted from person to person and is preventable through immunization with the tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccine. Cases are most common among newborns and pregnant women who have not been immunized.  

There has been a 97% decrease in newborn deaths due to tetanus since 1988, when over 700,000 newborns died within their first month of life due to tetanus — thanks to vaccination efforts.  

5. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can lead to cervical cancer. Infact, cervical cancers account for 90% of HPV-related cancers in women.  

The HPV vaccine is effective in preventing cancers from HPV. When the vaccine is administered early, it can reduce the “risk of serious cervical cell changes by 99% for the HPV types most likely to cause cervical cancer.” Higher vaccination rates could prevent hundreds of thousands of cervical cancer cases every year.  

The work to end these diseases is not done yet and vaccines are important tools in the global health toolbox to get us there. That’s why we work to ensure everyone has equal access to them— because equal access to vaccines means equal opportunities to live a life of dignity and equality for everyone, everywhere.