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 ...
Vaccines are available to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people live longer, healthier lives. They reduce risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defenses to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds.
All the ingredients in a vaccine play an important role in ensuring a vaccine is safe and effective. These ingredients, as well as the vaccines themselves, have been thoroughly tested and are monitored to ensure they are safe.
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.
This page answers the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety. If the information you are looking for is not here, check out our related links on the right-hand side of the page.
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.
The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) continues to closely monitor the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and the performance of COVID-19 vaccines against circulating variants. Based on these evaluations, WHO advises vaccine manufacturers and regulatory authorities on ...