Mass vaccination
But there are times when there is a need to quickly vaccinate the population at large and provide easy access to the service.
[3] In addition to these benefits, it enabled mass production through the use of animals, and ensured long term viability at temperatures below freezing.
[3] However, this method was insufficient to enable widespread vaccination in tropical regions of the world, and thus was largely restricted to temperate countries.
[3] It's important to note that the milder Variola Minor smallpox variant remained prevalent until the mid-20th century, as it often didn't warrant hospital visits or was misdiagnosed.
In 1958, a professor from the USSR, acting as a Health Assembly delegate, once again pushed the idea of smallpox being an issue for all countries, whether or not endemics are still occurring.
[3] This was particularly significant as the professor, Viktor Zhdanov, had come to the conclusion on his own, without knowledge of arguments from previous World Health Assemblies.
[3] Directed by Donald Henderson, this first effort involved the use of mass vaccinations with a goal to have 80% of every country's population immunized.
A lack of universal commitment from countries hindered this campaign allowing smallpox to remain prevalent almost a decade later.
[3] This was not well received during the Seventeenth World Health Assembly, in which many express doubts over the success especially with extreme vaccine shortages following a lack of donations.
[3] It wasn't until 1965 that the USA increased commitment to the cause, yet not out of interest but because they were already starting a measles eradication campaign and felt this could be added on.
Improved methods of surveillance and containment, as well as a large increase in support, was a critical part of finally eradicating smallpox.
[8] Jonas Salk developed the first inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in 1953 which was tested in a clinical trial that enrolled 1.6 million children in Canada, Finland and the United States.
[8] In 1988, the World Health Assembly decided to make efforts to completely eradicate polio by the year 2000 with a large amount of the progress occurring before the target date.
[9] This effort was titled the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and has seen wild success with a decrease in 99% of cases worldwide by 2018.
[9] Wealthier countries with better infrastructure were able to use more resources and introduce better health strategies to achieve herd immunity early on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of the most famous polio patients in the world, created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938 which eventually became known as March of Dimes.
[12] The March of Dimes funded a large portion of the polio research all throughout the epidemic and eventually resulted in the development of the vaccine by Jonas Salk.
[15] The difficulty arises when the world must not only eliminate the wild type polio virus but also the vaccine-derived form, making eradication even more complex.
[16] While the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) protected the host, it was not strong enough to generate intestinal mucosa immunity and therefore did not prevent the transmission of the virus.
[11] For the first mass immunization campaign in 1947, the New York City Department of Health maintained the outbreak within a period of 29 days and vaccinated 6.35 million people successfully.
[11] The vast differences between the number of people vaccinated in 1947 versus 1976, despite the outbreaks, are reflected mainly by the public's skeptical perception of the minimal severity and low threat of swine flu.
[11] Swine flu, also known as H1N1 influenza A virus, is a type of infectious respiratory disease that has caused high economical and medical burden every year around the world.
[18] This study emphasizes the importance of global surveillance, especially in many third-world countries, as well as the evolution of drug-resistant H1N1 influenza variants in an effort to prevent another pandemic.
[20] Without worldwide collaboration, funding for research, and rigorous guidelines for clinical trials there would not have been a quickly developed vaccine.
Messenger RNA vaccines work by giving cells specific instructions to make the S protein found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.
[23] In the United States, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell offered the league's 30 stadiums as mass vaccination sites.
[28] Pharmacist can oftentimes be the quickest access to a healthcare provider, making it a desirable option for the public to come and get vaccinated.
[29] Pharmacy technicians can support pharmacist which will allow more vaccination services to be accommodated efficiently and safety.
[30] Pharmacist are a quick resource for information and can help relieve some common concerns about reactions or misinformation to the vaccines.
[31] Amid the new strains of the coronavirus such as the omicron variant, scientist and healthcare officials have raised concern about reduced effectiveness of available vaccines.
