The study, conducted by GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, in collaboration with Australia Burnet Institute, and published in World Health of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), analyzed 210 epidemics in 49 low -income countries over a period of 23 years.
He found that the rapid deployment of vaccines during cholera, ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever epidemics, had resulted in an estimated disease and deaths of almost 60% on average.
For diseases like yellow fever and ebola, the impact was even more dramatic: the deaths of yellow fever dropped by 99%, while the deaths of Ebola dropped by 76%.
The results highlight not only the effectiveness of emergency vaccination, but also the essential role of preparation and speed in response to emerging threats.
“For the first time, we are able to in -depth quantify the advantages, in human and economic terms, to deploy vaccines against epidemics of some of the deadliest infectious diseases,” said Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi.
“”This study clearly demonstrates the power of vaccines as a profitable counter-measurement of the increasing risk that the world is confronted from epidemics.“”
GAVI: a rescue partnership
Gavi, the alliance of vaccines, is a unique global partnership that helps vaccinate almost half of the world in the world against deadly and debilitating diseases.
It brings together governments in development of countries and donors, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates and other key partners to extend access to immunization.
GAVI also maintains global vaccine stocks for major diseases, managed in coordination with WHO, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Working in partnership with GAVI, governments and health authorities, United Nations agencies support vaccination campaigns in some of the most remote regions of writing. In the photo here, a child receives a vaccine in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific.
Quantification of lives and costs saved
In addition to reducing deaths and years of life adjusted in terms of adjusted people, emergency vaccination during the 210 epidemics studied generated nearly $ 32 billion in economic advantages – to avoid premature deaths and years of life lost against invalidity.
The study authors claim that this figure is probably a conservative estimate, because it does not include the wider social and macroeconomic impacts of major epidemics.
For example, the Ebola 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which occurred before an approved vaccine was available, cost the region about $ 53 billion. On the other hand, subsequent epidemics responded to emergency vaccines saw the reduced deaths of three quarters and the regional distribution threat has lowered.
Results by illness
Disease gains by illness
The study provides a deterioration in the effectiveness of vaccines by the disease.
MeaslesOne of the best known infectious viruses has seen the cases drop by 59% and deaths of 52% thanks to the response campaigns to epidemics.
Yellow fever I saw the biggest gains, emergency vaccination almost eliminating deaths – a 99%drop.
Cholera And meningitiswhich often strikes communities with limited access and infrastructure in terms of health, has experienced more modest but always significant reductions in cases and deaths.
Vaccinations have helped to reduce the cases and deaths of cholera respectively by 28% and 36%, through 40 cholera epidemics between 2011 and 2023. For meningitis, cases and deaths dropped by 27% and 28% respectively, over 10 years.
Vaccines, COVID-19 and future threats
The coronavirus pandemic “> Covid-19 was a brutal reminder of the value of the vaccines, which saved around 20 million lives worldwide during the first year of deployment aloneAccording to the Lancet Medical Journal respected and influential.
However, the pandemic also disrupted routine immunization, leading to a dangerous decline in disease coverage rates such as measles and polio. The GAVI study underlines that emergency vaccination must be associated with solid routine vaccination systems to prevent future epidemics.
In the future, GAVI 2026-2030’s strategy includes expansion of stocks, accelerating access to vaccines for diseases such as MPOX and hepatitis E, and support preventive campaigns in high-risk regions.
