After clean water, vaccination is the most effective public health intervention in the world that saves lives and promotes good health. Vaccines protect everybody. They protect individuals who suffer most from serious infectious diseases, such as young children and the elderly and they also protect people who cannot be or who choose not to be vaccinated. If more than 95% of people in a population have been vaccinated, the number of people who are susceptible to a viral or bacterial infection is so low that infections do not spread easily.
Vaccines are extremely safe, but they do not always protect a person completely: this is an important reason to continue to invest in research focused on improving vaccinations. Inaccurate information on the internet and social media has persuaded more and more parents to choose not to vaccinate their children. This has already resulted in measles epidemics, such as those seen in the pre-vaccination era.
The purpose of the symposium is to update the medical and social science community on access to vaccines; the efficacy and safety of vaccines; the latest achievements in vaccine development; and the reluctance to accept vaccines, both here in the Netherlands and worldwide. The round table discussion will create a platform to discuss the role of vaccination in individual and public health.
