Problem Solving for Immunization Programs

Countries around the world - even those at war - are collaborating to ensure that children under the age of five don't die from diseases for which vaccines are available. In the past twenty years, global vaccine coverage has surpassed eighty per cent, and a second disease, polio, is nearly eradicated. In the United States, coverage rates are even higher, and vaccine-preventable diseases are now rare. Never have so many resources been focused on immunization - yet problems remain. Additional, highly effective vaccines have been developed but still do not reach the majority of children. More worrisome, currently high immunization rates may be unsustainable for a number of reasons.