World Immunisation Week

World Immunization Week is coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the campaign is celebrated every year in the last week of April. The objective of the day is to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against various diseases. In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the significance of the week is even more today. In this article you will read about the significance of the week and the need for vaccines.

As UPSC surprises aspirants with questions linked with what usually is assumed to be trivia; it is advisable that one must scroll through the facts about World Immunisation Week to get the basic information. The topic, if at all asked in the UPSC Prelims, will form the part of the current affairs.

Facts about World Immunisation Week

Read the below-mentioned facts about World Immunisation Week; and aid your IAS Exam preparation along with other competitive exams’ preparation.

The topic can be asked as a Current Affairs Question in IAS Prelims. Visit the attached link to attempt practice quizzes on current affairs.

To read more about the other Important International and National days click on the link. Such days and events become very important for UPSC Prelims.

About World Immunisation Week 2021

• Immunisation is accepted as the most successful and cost-effective health invention that has the potential to save millions of lives every year.
• The theme of the World Immunisation Week 2021 was “Vaccines bring us closer“.
• The aim of the theme this year was to show how vaccination can connect people to achieve goals and moments that matter to us the most. Immunisation helps to improve the health of everyone, everywhere throughout life.
• The WHO has partnered with various organisations and individuals under theme to achieve the following:
  • To increase trust and confidence in vaccines.
  • To increase investment in vaccines and remove barriers.

Read about the National Immunisation Day in the linked article.

Significance of World Immunisation Week 2021

The goal of the week is to offer an unprecedented opportunity to build public trust in the value of all vaccines. The week is used to help build long-term support for immunisation. The objectives of the World Immunisation Week 2021 are-

• to raise awareness about the significance of full immunisation throughout life.
• To highlight the importance of vaccines and how they enable everyone to live a healthy and a productive life.
• The most significant aspect of this year’s theme was to build solidarity and trust in vaccination as a public good that saves lives and protects health.

About Vaccination

• Vaccination is a way to train our immune system to recognise new viruses that can cause diseases. Vaccines help to produce antibodies against antigens of the pathogens.
• Not just this, vaccination also helps the immune system to remember the antigens that lead to infection. This way our immune system is able to respond faster to the same pathogen causing disease in the future.
• Thus, it can be said that while responding to the vaccine, our body builds an adaptive immune system, which helps the body to fight off the actual infection in the future.
• Vaccines-

A vaccine consists of two parts and most likely given through an injection.

• The first part is the antigen, which is a part of disease causing pathogen, one’s body must learn to recognise.
• The second part is the adjuvant, which sends a danger signal to the body and helps one’s immune system to respond strongly against the antigen.
• Although vaccines aren’t a silver bullet, they help us progress on a path to a world where we all can be together. With evolving times vaccines themselves continue to advance, bringing us closer to a world free from diseases like tuberculosis and cervical cancer, and ending suffering from childhood diseases like tetanus and measles.
• Vaccines are playing a critical role in the battle against COVID-19.
• Focus on investment and new research is making groundbreaking approaches to vaccine development, which are changing the science of immunisation forever, bringing us closer to a healthier future.

Read about the Immunisation Drive in India, in the linked article.

Note: As UPSC 2022 approaches, use BYJU’S free Daily Video Analysis of The Hindu Newspaper to augment your preparation.

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