Egy cikket (free full text) ajánlanék mindenki figyelmébe a témában:
Vaccines and global health
Brian Greenwood et al
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2011) 366, 2733–2742
Vaccination has led to eradication of smallpox and the elimination of poliomyelitis and measles from large parts of the world, saving millions of lives. However, despite these successes, vaccination still has the potential to make an even greater contribution to global health. Three million children still die each year from vaccine preventable diseases [1]. Pneumonia, meningitis and diarrhoea account for a quarter of childhood deaths, many of which could be prevented with currently available vaccines. Malaria and improved tuberculosis vaccines are on the horizon and vaccination against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may ultimately become possible. The scope of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination is expanding. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines are already being used successfully to prevent liver and cervical cancers, and progress is being made on the therapeutic use of vaccines in the treatment of cancer and in the management of non-communicable disease such as hypertension, diabetes and addiction.
If the full, global potential of vaccination is to be achieved, advances must be made in three main areas. Firstly, the fundamental science that leads both to new ways of designing vaccines and of delivering them more effectively needs increased support. Secondly, transition of new discoveries in the laboratory into practical vaccines needs to be accelerated. Thirdly, mechanisms need to be developed which make existing vaccines, and the increasing number of new vaccines on the horizon, available to those who need them most, ensuring that every child is reached and that vaccination provides protection for life and not just during childhood.
Introduction of a new vaccine will proceed smoothly only if it has public acceptance. Resistance to vaccination is a universal phenomenon seen in both industrialized and developing societies with fears over mumps, measles, rubella (MMR) safety in the UK being a prominent example of the former and resistance to polio vaccination in Nigeria an example of the latter. Anti-vaccine lobbyists are influential through the involvement of celebrity figures and the use of an increasing number of professional-appearing websites in both wealthy and developing countries. Ways of countering this challenge to the introduction of new vaccines of proven benefit and excellent safety profile were considered at both the discussion and satellite meetings and some examples of how this has been achieved successfully were described.
Teljes mértékben egyetértek az utóbbi idézetben foglaltakkal, mindent meg kell tenni azért, hogy megfelelő felvilágosítással kifogjuk a szelet az antivaxok vitorlájából.It was agreed that the scientific community needs to take a more active role in promoting the value of vaccination and in counteracting the often misleading information provided on anti-vaccine websites. Advocacy for vaccination needs to be entirely objective, giving clear recognition of the considerable benefits of vaccination and putting into appropriate context the extremely small risks of any serious outcomes.
