A new study showed that the “emergency vaccination” campaigns that health authorities usually implement during the outbreaks of valid diseases such as cholera, Ebola and measles have managed to reduce the deaths caused by these diseases by approximately 60% over the past quarter.
According to a report published by the specialized “Science Alert” website, and it was seen by “Al -Arabiya Net”, the prevailing belief is that a large number of injuries were avoided thanks to the vaccinations, while billions of dollars were achieved as estimated economic benefits.
The “Javi” alliance of vaccines, which supported the study, announced that it had cooperated with researchers at the Burant Institute in Australia to present the first global view of the historical influence of emergency vaccination efforts on public health and global health security.
“For the first time, we are able to define human and economic benefits comprehensively to spread vaccines against the spread of some of the most dangerous infectious diseases,” said Sanya Nishar, CEO of Javi Alliance.
She added: “This study clearly shows the power of vaccines as a cost -effective anti -action to face the increasing risks the world faces from the outbreak of diseases.”
The study, published this week, dealt with 210 cases of five infectious diseases: cholera, ebola, measles, meningitis, and yellow fever, in 49 low -income countries between 2000 and 2023.
The vaccination campaigns in these countries had a major impact, as the study showed that it reduced the number of injuries and deaths by approximately 60% in the five diseases.
The effect was much greater for some diseases, as the study showed that vaccination reduces deaths during yellow fever by 99%, and 76% for Ebola.
Meanwhile, the vaccination in emergency situations significantly reduce the risk of expanding the scope of diseases.
The study also estimated that the vaccination efforts made during the previews of the 210 diseases have achieved economic benefits of approximately $ 32 billion, only by avoiding deaths and years lost due to disability.
However, the study indicated that this amount is likely to be much lower than the total savings, noting that it did not take into account the costs of responding to the outbreak of diseases or the total social and economic effects of the disorders caused by the widespread outbreaks of diseases.
For example, the massive Ebola virus that struck West Africa in 2014, before the approved vaccines, witnessed the emergence of cases around the world, and it is estimated that it cost West African countries alone more than $ 53 billion.
The study comes after the World Health Organization warned last April that the outbreak of diseases that can be prevented with vaccines, such as measles, meningitis and yellow fever, is taking over globally amid misleading information and discounts in international aid.
The Global Alliance for vaccines and immunization, which helps in vaccinating more than half of the world’s children against infectious diseases, is currently trying to secure a new round of financing in the face of global aid discounts, and after Washington announced last month that it will stop supporting the group.
