Infectious diseases are dangerous because of their complications, which can lead to disability, and some even to death. Infectious diseases, from which (or from whose severe complications) one can protect oneself through immunization, are transmitted from an infected person to a healthy one, usually by airborne droplets.
Immunization (as defined by the World Health Organization) is the process by which a person acquires immunity, or becomes immune to an infectious disease, and which is usually accomplished by administering a vaccine.
Infections that can be prevented by vaccination include: whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, hemophilic infection, pneumococcal infection, meningococcal infection, rotavirus infection, chickenpox, hepatitis A, papillomavirus infection and others.
Vaccines stimulate the body's own immune system to protect a person from a particular infection or disease.
Vaccination aims to protect the body from infection, prevent severe disease and complications from it.
A child who has not been vaccinated against certain infections is at great risk of getting sick, especially if the number of such children increases every year.
The use of vaccines reduces the likelihood of the spread of the relevant infections by hundreds of times. To date, there are no alternatives to vaccination for the prevention of the relevant infections.
The risk of disease spreading among unvaccinated children is significantly higher than among those protected by vaccination.
Vaccination achievements
Every year, vaccinations save 2.5 million children's lives worldwide. Here are some facts about vaccination achievements:
- thanks to vaccination, humanity defeated natural smallpox;
- The incidence of polio has decreased by 991%, and a little more and humanity will eradicate this terrible disease forever;
- the incidence of tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, rubella, meningitis, and liver cancer has decreased;
- global measles deaths decreased by 751%;
- The annual mortality rate from neonatal tetanus has decreased by more than 13 times. Herd immunity
Vaccination coverage at the level of 951% of the country's population makes it possible to provide full protection for the population from outbreaks and epidemics of infectious diseases that can be prevented by vaccinations - this is called herd immunity.
In the event of a decrease in population immunity, the incidence of infections against which vaccination is carried out increases.
WHO warns that if the level of vaccination coverage of a country's population drops by several 1% to 3%, this creates favorable conditions for the spread of infectious diseases, as the lower the collective immunity, the higher the chance of outbreaks and epidemics.
Changes to the National Vaccination Calendar came into effect in Ukraine on January 1, 2026. They include expanding the list of mandatory vaccinations, updating vaccination schedules, changing the age, and introducing modern combined vaccines.
The Calendar now provides protection against 11 infectious diseases instead of 10: the vaccination schedule has been introduced vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV).
Tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) will now be administered in the maternity hospital not on the 3-5th day of the baby's life, but already 24 hours after birth.
Vaccination schedules harmonized against hepatitis B, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, HIB infection and polio: now the primary course of vaccinations against all these infections will be carried out according to a single scheme of 2-4-6-18 months.
Vaccination schedule changed against measles, mumps and rubella: the first dose of the vaccine will be administered, as before, at 12 months, and the age for the second dose has been changed to 4 years.
Done full transition to inactivated polio vaccine (IPV): IPV vaccine will now be administered for all doses of polio (previously it was only used for the first two doses). The polio vaccination course will consist of 5 doses: polio booster vaccination at age 14 has been canceled.