Vaccination coverage

In 2016, an estimated 19.5 million infants worldwide were not reached with routine immunization services such as diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3). Around 60% of these children live in 10 countries : Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Ukraine ⁴. Globally, immunization coverage of these basic vaccines has increased by only 1% since 2010 ⁵.

During 2012, 48,277 cases of pertussis were reported to CDC, including 20 pertussis-related deaths. This was the most reported cases since 1955. This clearly illustrates that continued vigilance and maximizing vaccine coverage are crucial to control and eradicate some infectious diseases in the future.

To protect and improve human health worldwide Sanofi Pasteur makes a major contribution to meeting global goals outlined in the Vaccines Alliance (Gavi) milestones for selective immunization goals. These include by 2020, all countries are aiming to achieve vaccination coverage of at least 90% nationally and at least 80% in every district.

For example, polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases then, to 33 ⁶ reported cases in 2018. As a result of the global effort to eradicate the disease, more than 16 million people have been saved from paralysis.

According to the WHO, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.