Vaccines to protect and preserve health
- The invention of vaccines is one of the greatest achievements of mankind.
- Over the past 50 years, at least 154 million lives have been saved through the use of essential human vaccines. That is, six lives every minute, every day for five decades.
- According to the World Health Organization, over the past 50 years, vaccination has contributed 40% to improving infant survival rates, and nowadays more children live to see their first and subsequent birthdays than ever before in the history of mankind. The measles vaccine alone has saved 60% of the children's lives saved by immunization.
- However, the hard-won successes in the eradication of vaccine-controlled diseases have been threatened (smallpox has been eliminated in today's world and polio has almost been eliminated). Unfounded fears and the dissemination of false information about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines remain a serious problem, which leads to the refusal of vaccinations (for example, in 2023, 22 million children worldwide missed the first dose of measles vaccine).
- Unjustified refusal of vaccination not only puts a person at risk, making him vulnerable to potentially dangerous diseases, but also undermines collective immunity. Reducing the level of vaccination in society creates a favorable environment for the spread of infections, which can lead to outbreaks of diseases and endanger the health of the most vulnerable groups of the population – infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
- Since this year, within the framework of the National Calendar of Preventive vaccinations, in accordance with Resolution No. 111 of July 1, 2024 of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, the population has been vaccinated against 13 infectious diseases (viral hepatitis B, tuberculosis, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, hemophilic infection, polio, measles, rubella, mumps, pneumococcal infection, influenza and infection caused by the human papillomavirus), and as part of the list of vaccinations for epidemic indications – against 21 infections (both included and not included in the National Vaccination Calendar).
A "direct" telephone line with specialist consultations will be organized as part of the European Immunization Week.:
- Internist (head) Ekaterina Sergeevna Asadchaya – 17.04.2026 and 20.04.2026 from 13.00 to 14.00, +375 (17) 378-17-10.
