Recognizing World Immunization Week 2021: #VaccinesWork to Bring us Closer to a Healthier Future

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on immunization and broader health programs have thrust vaccines into the forefront of public health discussions. Now more than ever, the world is focused on the impact and importance of vaccines to prevent life-altering diseases.

World Immunization Week (WIW) brings an opportunity to look at how past efforts to build and strengthen routine immunization programs contribute to sustaining and continuing global progress overall. Throughout 2020 to present day, we are actively engaged at the global, AFRO regional, and country levels (across Africa and SE Asia) to support countries in their COVID-19 response including for COVID-19 vaccine introduction. 

Join us this week as we recognize how vaccines are the best way to give every child a healthy start to life and protect against preventable diseases from birth into old age. This world immunization week we reflect as a global health community on how strengthening RI systems and successfully introducing the COVID-19 vaccine globally will bring us closer to stronger and healthier communities and health systems.

Some of our contributions to WIW can be found below and through our social media and partner engagements.

• Blended Learning Using Peer Mentoring and WhatsApp for Building Capacity of Health Workers for Strengthening Immunization Services in Kenya
• COVID-19 Vaccine Readiness and Introduction in India
• COVID-19 Vaccination: Bringing us closer to ending the pandemic in Malawi
• Finding the Perfect Temperature: Protecting Lifesaving Vaccines in Remote Areas
• Getting Products to People by Redesigning Health Supply Chains
• Redesigning Immunization Supply Chains: Results from three country analyses
• Reflections from the Vaccines Frontlines: Communities in NH and VA come together to meet people’s needs
• Three Lessons from HPV to Consider for COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction
• Three Ways to Make Supply Chain Work for Your Immunization Program