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Vaccines and immunization - World Health Organization (WHO)
Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases, before they come into contact with them. It uses your body’s natural defences to build resistance to specific infections and makes your immune system stronger.
Vaccines and immunization: What is vaccination?
Vaccines protect us throughout life and at different ages, from birth to childhood, as teenagers and into old age. In most countries you will be given a vaccination card that tells you what vaccines you or your child have had and when the next vaccines or booster doses are due. It is important to make sure that all these vaccines are up to date.
How do vaccines work? - World Health Organization (WHO)
How vaccines help fight disease Vaccines contain weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism (antigen) that triggers an immune response within the body. Other vaccines contain weakened or reconstituted virus or bacteria as a whole. Newer vaccines contain the blueprint for producing antigens (DNA or RNA) rather than the antigen itself.
Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals
The Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals department is responsible for targeting vaccine-preventable diseases, guiding immunization research and establishing immunization policy.
Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines
The TAG-CO-VAC reconvened on 6-7 May 2025 to review the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2; immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19 vaccination; the performance of currently approved vaccines against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants; and the implications for COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition.
Recommendations for influenza vaccine composition for the 2026-2027 ...
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced recommendations for the viral composition of influenza (or “flu”) vaccines for the 2026-2027 northern hemisphere influenza season. The announcement was made following a 4-day consultation examining global influenza surveillance data.
Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2026 ...
Related links: Frequently Asked Questions - Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines Antigenic and genetic characteristics of zoonotic influenza A viruses and development of candidate vaccine viruses for pandemic preparedness in the 2026-2027 northern hemisphere influenza season
Vaccines and immunization: Vaccine safety
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent diseases. Over the past 50 years, essential vaccines against just 14 diseases have saved at least 154 million lives (1). During the same period, vaccination has contributed to 40% of the drop in infant deaths. Together with governments, vaccine manufacturers, scientists and medical experts, WHO's vaccine safety programme is constantly ...
Next-generation influenza vaccines could save millions of lives, finds WHO
Next generation influenza vaccines that provide broader and longer-lasting protection than existing seasonal vaccines, could play a vital role in reducing the global burden of influenza, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) assessment.
WHO expert group’s new analysis reaffirms there is no link between ...
New analysis from a WHO global expert committee on vaccine safety has found that, based on available evidence, no causal link exists between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The conclusion reaffirms WHO’s position that childhood vaccines do not cause autism.
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