Happy Birthday, FDR – A Celebration and Reminder
On the 141st anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birth, UN Foundation's Peter Yeo reflects on his life as a polio survivor and his legacy as a leader in that fight.
New Year’s Resolution: Vaccine Advocacy
In this guest blog, nurse and Shot@Life Champion Tricia Souza writes about her New Year's resolution: advocating for vaccine access.
Polio Vaccines Protect Children and Families from Hardship
A Shot@Life means every child and every family the best possible opportunity to thrive, without the pain of diseases like polio.
Champion Spotlight: Mariam Bahova
Growing up in the Republic of Guinea and now working in global health, Shot@Life Champion Mariam Bahova has a unique perspective on what access to vaccines means to individuals, communities, and the world.
Mobilize to Immunize 2022 Recap
Shot@Life advocates mobilized policymakers to invest in world immunization programs through the six week advocacy period Mobilize to Immunize this past fall.
Happy Thanksgiving from Shot@Life
The Shot@Life team reflects on what they're thankful for with the Thanksgiving holidays quickly approaching.
Shot@Life Celebrates 10 Years of Get a Shot. Give a Shot.
We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Walgreens and celebrate a landmark tenth consecutive year of the Get a Shot. Give a Shot. ® program to immunize children around the world.
Measles Outbreaks: Your Questions Answered
Measles cases are on the rise around the globe, with the World Health Organization reporting 26 large or disruptive outbreaks of the highly contagious virus this year alone. Here are answers to some questions about measles outbreaks and what is being done to stop them.
What We Are Reading: October Edition
Check out a few of the Shot@Life team’s favorite recent reads about immunizations efforts and global health that we thought you might enjoy, too.
Advice from Experienced Vaccine Equity Advocates
We reached out to some of our champions and asked them what advice they would share with other advocates to make the most of these advocacy periods, Mobilize to Immunize in the fall and Advocate to Vaccinate in the spring.
5 Ways Shot@Life Advocates Fundraise to Help Provide Lifesaving Vaccines
See how our champions are campaigning for increased access to immunization through individual fundraising events.
Welcome Back: Lindsay Cobb
Lindsay Cobb, our former grassroots advocacy intern, joins us as our new Campaign Associate. Learn more about her in this Q&A!
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Immunization is often disconnected from national health security strategy, but #DidYouKnow countries like Uganda and South Africa are leading the charge to change that?
Immunization infrastructure is a key part of pandemic preparedness and response and has three critical advantages:
🧑⚕️ Trusted community networks – essential for quickly communicating risk during outbreaks
🖇️ Cold chain infrastructure – a backbone of commodities distribution
📍 Tracking systems – immunization drives are data-driven, geo-tagged health data that can be used for outbreak warnings
Mainstreaming immunization into PPR is not just smart, it’s urgently necessary.
May 7
Outbreaks move fast; with vaccines, we can move faster.
With outbreaks of highly infectious diseases increasing worldwide, vaccine stockpiles are of vital importance. @gavialliance’s next strategic period will focus on stockpiling to advance rapid response efforts and protect another generation of children from disease.
Expanding these global vaccine stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis, and yellow fever will protect millions when every second counts.
Learn more at https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/vaccine-stockpiles-guide [link in story]
May 6
According to new research from Stanford University, the U.S. is facing millions of measles cases over the next 25 years if vaccination rates for the disease drop 10%.
And the trend is not exclusive to the U.S.: measles is making a dangerous comeback worldwide. In the past year, 138 countries have reported measles cases, with 61 reporting outbreaks. This is the highest number observed since 2019.
Misinformation and the global funding crisis is creating deadly roadblocks in our ability to vaccinate millions of children against deadly diseases. Vaccines work—but only if people have access.
May 5
New data shows that over 3 million children died from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections in 2022.
Drugs of last resort are increasingly being used to fight these resistant infections, highlighting the dire need for global coordination to control AMR in children.
Increased surveillance of AMR must adopt a ‘One Health’ approach to ensure that antibiotic use stays under control, ensuring that everyone, everywhere has a shot at life. #HealthForAll
May 2
COVID-19 caused the largest reduction in immunization coverage in a generation, with 23 million children missing out on routine vaccinations in 2020 alone. We are still trying to catch up from this backslide.
And now, the United Nations has warned that aid cuts have already set back childhood vaccination levels almost as much as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interruptions in immunization programs and supply chains across the world have led to unprecedented surges in infectious diseases.
With #WorldImmunizationWeek drawing to a close, now is the time for action. Visit shotatlife.org to get started.
May 1
We can be the generation to successfully eradicate the second disease in human history.
Enormous progress has been made against polio, a deadly and paralytic disease—but there is still work to be done.
Hear from polio survivor and advocate, @rameshferris, about how far we’ve come and what lies ahead for action against polio.
(Filmed Feb. 2025)
Apr 30
“To know that there will not be a culture of crawlers… because they hadn’t had equitable access to vaccines. That’s why I will remain committed to a polio-free world.”
A few decades ago, polio was paralyzing 1,000 children every day, but today, cases have fallen by 99.9%.
Stay tuned tomorrow to hear from @rameshferris, polio survivor and advocate, on the pressing need to fund polio vaccine programs and ensure that everyone, everywhere, has a shot at life.
Apr 29
Every fall, millions of Americans across the country flock to their local pharmacies for their flu vaccines.
But the process of developing these annual jabs is no easy feat—and @who, in partnership with American researchers and manufacturers, plays a major role.
Keep watching to hear Dr. Wilson of @weillcornell discuss how the WHO ensures that our flu vaccines are timely and safe every single year. #WorldImmunizationWeek
Apr 28
On #WorldMalariaDay last year, we celebrated the arrival of the R21 vaccine, the second ever WHO-approved vaccine against malaria.
These safe, effective vaccines took decades to develop and—when paired with existing interventions—have the potential to save millions of lives.
Now, it’s about ensuring that malaria vaccines reach those who need them most. A malaria-free world is in reach, but only if we fight for it.
Raise your voice for immunization at shotatlife.org
Apr 25
This #WorldImmunizationWeek, we are at a watershed moment in the history of global health.
Vaccines have saved over 154 million lives in the last 50 years. Decades of collaboration have culminated in the eradication of smallpox and near-eradication of polio.
But progress has stalled in recent years.
It’s time to stand up for global health. Together, we can prove that immunization for all is #HumanlyPossible.
Apr 24
This week, Shot@Life College Ambassadors @ameenamnd and @wxjiha hosted a phone bank with their fellow UAB students to tell their policymakers why funding global immunization is more important than ever.
Tomorrow is the chance for you to do the same. Join Shot@Life Champions from around the U.S. who will be calling Congress for #HealthForAll.
Visit shotatlife.org/callscript to get started.
Apr 23
Tomorrow kicks off #WorldImmunizationWeek, a reflection on the human progress made possible by vaccination and a push to keep the fight for #HealthForAll alive.
Consider joining Shot@Life Champions from around the U.S. who will be making their voice heard in support of global vaccine equity.
Tomorrow is Shot@Life`s call-in day, and we urge you to tell your policymakers why YOU care about global immunization programs. Visit shotatlife.org/callscript to get started.
Apr 23
Become a Shot@Life Champion
Are you ready to increase your commitment to fight for global vaccine equity? Sign up for an advocacy training and become a Shot@Life Champion!
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