Settimanale Azione - Vaccines: History, Concerns, and Individual Responsibility

In recent years, vaccines have returned to the center of public debate. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness of their importance, but also fueled doubts and misinformation, known as “vaccine hesitancy”—that is, the delay or refusal to get vaccinated despite the availability of vaccines. This phenomenon is a concern for public health because as the perceived risk of disease decreases, the risk of underestimating the importance of prevention increases. In 2024, according to the WHO and UNICEF, over 14 million children worldwide remained completely unprotected against preventable diseases. Measles vaccination coverage also remains below the 95% threshold needed to prevent epidemics: more than 30 million children are therefore inadequately protected, and the consequences are already visible: in the European region, the WHO recorded over 127,000 cases of measles in 2024, the highest number in the last 25 years.

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