World Immunization Week 2024: Date, Theme, History and Significance

Every year the last week of April (24 to 30 April) is celebrated as ‘World Immunization Week’. The global vaccine campaign of the late 20th century is one of humanity's greatest achievements. Vaccination campaigns have enabled us to eradicate smallpox, almost defeat polio and ensure that

Theme of World Immunization Week 2024:

• This year the theme of ‘World Immunization Week’ 2024 has been kept as ‘Humanly Possible: Immunization for All’.
• Whereas the theme of ‘World Immunization Week’ 2023 was ‘The Big Catch-Up’.

Start of World Immunization Week:

• The World Health Assembly established World Immunization Week in 2012. At that time it was celebrated in more than 180 countries. Vaccinations were held at different times around the world weeks ago. However, currently it is celebrated at the same time globally.
  • Yet ‘European Vaccination Week’ is celebrated every year from 21-27 April.
  • Similarly, 'National Child Immunization Week' is celebrated every year in India from 22-29 April.
• The history and origins of this phenomenon can be traced back to Edward Jenner's invention of the vaccine in the 18th century.

20 percent children in India are still away from vaccines:

• Vaccination reached 80 percent annually in the country but 20 percent of children are still away from vaccines.
• Vaccination was adversely affected due to Corona in 2020 and 2021. During this period, 30 lakh children were left out of vaccination, but working at the district level, there has been a lot of improvement in this.
• According to UNICEF's report 'The State of the World's Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination', 27 lakh children in India still have not received a single vaccine.
• This is not just India's situation. According to the World Health Organization, the number of children deprived of vaccination worldwide increased by 5 million between 2019 and 2021.
• Compared to 2019, more than 35 lakh girls did not get the anti-human papilloma virus vaccine during 2022.

Why is vaccination needed?

• The biggest protective shield for children is vaccination. It protects children from deadly diseases. Makes their immune system stronger. We have more than 100 years of history behind it. Till now, children have been safe from diseases only because of vaccination.
• Mission Indradhanush: The government launched Mission Indradhanush in 2014 for universal vaccination.
• Under this, every year in the country, children aged between zero and five years are being given vaccines like BCG, Polio, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Hepatitis B, Rotavirus Vaccine, Measles and Rubella (MR), Japanese Encephalitis, Diphtheria, Tetanus etc.
• The vaccine guards against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B.
• In India, vaccination has increased by 18.5 percent due to Mission Indradhanush. Due to this, we were able to eradicate polio in 2014 and maternal-newborn tetanus in 2015.

70% of the world's vaccines are manufactured in India:

• The world became witness to India's vaccine manufacturing capacity in the Corona epidemic. At the same time, India has been producing vaccines for diseases like measles, BCG, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DPT) for a long time. WHO estimates that 70 percent of children in the world are taking Indian-made vaccines.

Vaccination saves 90% lives:

• If the vaccine is not taken, the risk to children's life will remain more than 90 percent. Antibodies of these children are not able to develop, due to which they start suffering from pneumonia within a few days. This becomes fatal later on. Vaccination is an effective way to protect the health of children and adults.