Key points
- Measles vaccination has saved nearly 59 million lives since 2000, and measles deaths fell 88% between 2000 and 2024 — progress that depends on coverage staying above 95%.
- HPV vaccination of girls aged 9–14 prevents most cervical cancer; global coverage was 31% of eligible girls with at least one dose in 2024, against a 90% target for 2030.
- Hepatitis B vaccine offers nearly 100% protection; all babies should receive the birth dose within 24 hours (WHO fact sheet, 28 July 2026).
- Influenza vaccine is given every year, and COVID-19 vaccination is now prioritised for high-risk groups under the WHO SAGE roadmap — not as universal annual boosters.
Direct answer: Vaccination prevents five very different kinds of harm: measles outbreaks that return the moment coverage drops; cervical cancer, through HPV vaccination of girls aged 9–14; seasonal influenza, through an annual vaccine; severe COVID-19 in high-risk groups; and chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer, through the birth dose and infant series. This page takes one disease at a time, from WHO and CDC sources, and says what is not covered at the end.
Measles
Measles is the disease that shows, first and fastest, whether vaccination coverage is holding. WHO reported in November 2025 that measles deaths fell 88% between 2000 and 2024 — from around 777,000–800,000 to an estimated 95,000 in 2024 — and that nearly 59 million lives have been saved by measles vaccination since 2000. An estimated 11 million measles infections occurred in 2024, nearly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic 2019. The coverage behind those numbers is the problem: globally, first-dose coverage was 84% and second-dose 77% in 2025, against the 95% with two doses needed in every community (WHO/UNICEF, 15 July 2026). WHO gives 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine, the first at 9 or 12 months depending on local risk. The measles guide on this site carries the full resurgence picture.
HPV and cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening. WHO’s cervical cancer fact sheet (3 July 2026) records about 604,000 new cases and about 280,000 deaths globally in 2024, making it the 5th most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. HPV vaccination for girls aged 9–14 is highly effective: as of 2025 there are 8 licensed HPV vaccines, 5 WHO-prequalified, protecting against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause about 76% of cervical cancers. The schedule is 1 or 2 doses depending on the national schedule; people with compromised immune systems ideally receive 2–3 doses, and some countries also vaccinate boys. Global coverage is far from the target: 31% of eligible girls had received at least one dose in 2024, against the 90% target for 2030 (WHO/UNICEF WUENIC 2024 data). The 90–70–90 targets for 2030 are: 90% of girls fully vaccinated by age 15, 70% of women screened by 35 and again by 45, and 90% of women with pre-cancer or invasive cancer treated. World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day is 17 November each year.
Influenza
WHO’s position paper on vaccines against influenza (May 2022) recommends that all countries consider seasonal influenza vaccination programmes for health workers, people with comorbidities or underlying conditions, older adults, and pregnant women, with additional groups by national context. A global review of national policies in 194 WHO Member States in 2022 found seasonal influenza vaccine available in 74% of Member States (143 of 194), and 100 countries recommending annual vaccination for all four WHO priority groups. The CDC adult schedule (2 July 2025) lists influenza as 1 dose every year for all adults, and the CDC child schedule as annual from 6 months. One figure is deliberately not on this page: the influenza burden figure of up to 1 billion infections and 650,000 respiratory deaths a year was seen only in a social-video summary and has not been verified against the WHO influenza fact sheet, so it is not published here.
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccination is now framed by risk, not by universal boosting. WHO’s SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines (2023 revision) sets three priority groups — high (older adults; younger adults with significant comorbidities; immunocompromised people including children from 6 months; pregnant people; frontline health workers), medium and low — with an additional booster 6 or 12 months after the last dose for the high-priority group, depending on age and immunocompromise. Healthy children and adolescents are low priority. The recommendations are explicitly time-limited to the current epidemiological scenario, not a standing annual-booster recommendation. The CDC adult schedule (2 July 2025) lists at least 1 dose of the current COVID-19 vaccine for adults, and at least 2 doses at age 65 and over. No 2026 COVID-19 death or case figure is published on this page: the figures seen in research could not be corroborated.
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is the disease where the birth dose does the most work. WHO’s hepatitis B fact sheet (28 July 2026) records 240 million people living with chronic hepatitis B in 2024, 0.9 million new infections a year, and an estimated 1.1 million deaths in 2024, mostly from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Infection in infancy or early childhood leads to chronic hepatitis in about 95% of cases, against under 5% in adulthood — which is why all babies should receive hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth, within 24 hours, followed by 2–3 doses at least 4 weeks apart. The vaccine offers nearly 100% protection, for at least 20 years and probably for life, and a booster is not usually required after the 3-dose series. Only 27% of people living with hepatitis B knew their status in 2024, and only 10 million (4.3%) were on antiviral treatment. Note the US divergence: US ACIP voted in December 2025 to end the universal birth dose, but that change is contested and stayed in court, and it is not the WHO position.
Frequently asked questions
Is the HPV vaccine one dose or two?
WHO says 1 or 2 doses depending on the national schedule, for girls aged 9–14. People with compromised immune systems ideally receive 2–3 doses.
Do I need a flu vaccine every year?
Yes — influenza vaccine is given every year, according to the CDC adult schedule. WHO recommends seasonal influenza vaccination for health workers, people with underlying conditions, older adults and pregnant women.
Does this page tell me which vaccines I need?
No. It explains what vaccination prevents, disease by disease, from WHO and CDC sources. Your country's official schedule is linked from the Vaccination Directory.