Emergency vaccination programmes – rolled out in response to outbreaks of five major diseases – are believed to have reduced deaths by around 60% over a period of 23 years, according to a new study, BBC reports. A similar number of infections are also thought to have been prevented. Researchers believe that vaccinations stopped much bigger outbreaks of illnesses like Ebola, cholera and yellow fever. The study also points to the significant economic benefits of vaccination programmes, which run into billions of dollars. Researchers say this is the first comprehensive study to assess the impact of emergency vaccination programmes in response to the outbreak of five infectious diseases – Ebola, measles, cholera, yellow fever and meningitis. They studied 210 different incidents from 2000 to 2023, covering 49 different countries. Read the full story here.
