World Immunization Week 2023: This Year's Theme: The Big Catch-Up
Every year for World Immunization Week, recognized annually the last week of April, the global immunization community comes together to celebrate the lifesaving power of vaccines.
This year’s theme, The Big Catch-Up, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the urgent and critical need to find and vaccinate children who missed vaccines that help to protect them from illness, disability, and death.
With three years of pandemic-related disruptions to vital health services and strained health systems, the world lost 30 years of progress to protect children with routine immunizations, an essential component to primary health services. In every region of the world, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, polio, and diphtheria are rising.
- In 2021, 25 million children missed at least one routine vaccine, and 18 million received no vaccines at all.
- In 2021, nearly 40 million children were left dangerously susceptible to the growing measles threat, and an estimated 128,000 died of measles.
- In 2021 and 2022, polio outbreaks were detected in areas with low vaccination rates. Cases of paralysis from polio were found in the United States and London.
No child should be denied the right to a lifesaving vaccine. We must quickly find and vaccinate children who missed vaccines. CDC is supporting countries and partners to rapidly direct attention and resources toward essential immunization services.