Scientific American: There’s Good News and Less Good News about Worldwide Immunization
Ngozi Erondu, infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2017 Aspen New Voices fellow, and associate fellow at the Chatham House Center on Global Health Security

“It’s World Immunization Week, and we have a lot of successes to celebrate. … [But as] a global community, we still have many immunization obstacles to overcome because coverage rates at the global, regional, and even country levels often mask the pockets of unvaccinated populations, the existence of which allow diseases to fester and keeps us all vulnerable, especially children. … [U]nimmunized pockets in highly industrialized countries should motivate governments to be more sensitive to the needs of specific groups and to adapt immunization services accordingly. … Amid the celebrations of new policies, the colorful vaccination campaigns, and the proclamations of higher coverage rates, let us remember that lurking in our midst are immunization gaps that span from the crowds at Disneyland to the markets of South Kivu. Let us not let our guard down: vaccines work — but only when enough people have been immunized” (4/26).