Our World in Data

Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools in public health. They have saved hundreds of millions of lives by preventing deadly diseases like measles, polio, and smallpox. Before vaccines, these infections were common, and surviving them often meant facing severe complications or lifelong disability. But challenges remain: not everyone has access to vaccines, poor scientific understanding can reduce trust and uptake, and supply shortages still put children at risk in many parts of the world. Our dedicated topic page explores the history and impact of vaccination and presents global data and research on vaccine development, coverage, and effectiveness. We just revised it with new writing and interactive charts! You can find it here: This work was led on our team by Fiona Spooner and Saloni Dattani.