The Global Vaccine Safety Initiative: enhancing vaccine pharmacovigilance capacity at country level

摘要

Large-scale immunization programmes now extend to all parts of the world, in- cluding least developed countries, where they reach unprecedented numbers of people. The numb er of vaccine doses administered worldwide continues to increase as new vaccines are developed and made available, and more people have access to immunization s ervices. Development of immunization pro- grammes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has increased im- munization coverage, which in turn has led to a reduction in vaccine-preventable diseases. However, as vaccine use has increased in LMICs, so has public atten- tion to vaccine safety issues, as happened previously in high-income countries. This has created additional vulnerabil- ity for all immunization programmes. Whether or not they are well founded, concerns about serious adverse events following immunization may rapidly undermine public confidence and be- come a serious threat to effective vacci- nation strategies, eroding the enormous gains in disease control achieved with decades of effort.