Every year, vaccines save more than 4 million lives. Yet every 20 seconds, a child still dies from an infectious disease that could have been prevented by a vaccine. This is unacceptable.
With 67 million children missing routine immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have already seen a rise in the number of measles and polio outbreaks around the globe. Recent global health and security crises have shown that now is a critical moment to protect the progress made in immunizations and strengthen health systems. These smart investments enhance our country’s global health security against current and future disease threats by detecting and stopping diseases early, at their source, and for a fraction of the cost of trying to contain an outbreak.