News

As #WorldImmunizationWeek draws to a close, we’re highlighting one of the real immunization success stories of recent decades: the incredible progress made in the fight against #polio.

From 1,000 children paralyzed every day in the 1980s, we’ve seen a 99.9% decline in cases and stand on the brink of ending this disease forever.

But we can’t stop here. We need to reaffirm our commitment to going the distance, make sure life-saving vaccines reach the last mile, and finally make polio a disease of the past.

Fighting polio isn’t just about preventing and treating cases. It’s about catching outbreaks before they can spread.

But did you know the early warning systems developed for polio also help catch outbreaks of novel and emerging disease threats?

Check out this episode of Global Dispatches to learn how: https://www.globaldispatches.org/how-existing-disease-surveillance

Thanks to international partnership and U.S. leadership, we’ve made enormous progress against polio – last year, there were just 39 cases of wild polio. But we can’t stop now and risk a comeback.

Ask YOUR Senators to commit to polio eradication today: https://bit.ly/senate-polio-27.

The WHO puts it plainly: delaying climate action undermines decades of public health progress.

In Mexico, for example, 80% of the population is at health risk from extreme weather, and a whopping 35% of diseases may be directly linked to environmental exposure.

Malaria, dengue, respiratory disease, malnutrition—all of it is getting worse as the planet warms. We can`t achieve global immunization goals on a destabilized planet. Climate action = health advocacy.

South Kordofan, Sudan hadn’t received vaccines in nearly three years. Not because the vaccines don’t exist, but because a siege blocked them. This month, 18 metric tons finally got through, and nearly 25,000 children will be given lifesaving vaccines this year. 
 
Vaccines only work if they can be administered. This delivery is a breakthrough; somewhere in Sudan this month, a child received a measles vaccine for the first time in nearly three years.

Cervical cancer is a vaccine access problem. In a major development, India is joining the 160 other countries that are taking action against it—free HPV vaccines for adolescent girls, nationwide. When political will meets public health evidence, lives are saved.

India`s nationwide HPV rollout is a win for 1.4 billion people, for the girls and women of our future generations, and for the global fight to eliminate cervical cancer as a whole.

Polio isn’t fully gone yet. Outbreaks still happen in under-vaccinated communities, and when they do, the world needs to respond fast. That means having enough of the right vaccines, ready to go, anywhere on the planet.
 
This latest prequalification helps make that possible by adding another novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) manufacturer to the global supply chain—that means more backup, less risk of shortages, faster protection for kids when it matters most.

In a powerful demonstration of global coordination and scientific agility, the World Health Organization has swiftly updated the 2026-2027 Northern Hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccine to match the rapidly spreading subclade K variant.
 
After just 4 days of consultation through the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, experts from around the world finalized the new composition—helping countries prepare with the best possible protection. Despite leaving WHO earlier this year, U.S. experts participated. 
 
When viruses evolve quickly, rapid, evidence-based updates like this are essential—and global cooperation delivered again.

Good news alert! 🚨 Next-generation flu vaccines could prevent 18 billion cases and save 6.2 million lives by 2050 while also mitigating AMR.
 
Current flu vaccines work—but protection only lasts one season, and effectiveness varies. Next-gen vaccines aim to offer broader, longer-lasting protection across multiple strains, reaching high-risk groups more effectively.
 
46 next-generation vaccine candidates are already in clinical development. Science doesn’t stop. 💪