Abstract

Aman Kurmi, Anjali Luhar, Ankit Vishwakarma, Amit Kachhi and Harshita Jain*

ABSTRACT

Protecting against long-standing illnesses will continue to be important in the decades and centuries ahead, but the work is not complete. In order to protect the world against infectious diseases, we need a mechanism to monitor new viruses, and rapidly develop vaccines against the most dangerous emerging infections. It is no secret that vaccinations have revolutionized global health. Arguably the single most life-saving innovation in the history of medicine, vaccines have eradicated smallpox, slashed child mortality rates, and prevented lifelong disabilities. Edward Jenner developed the first vaccination to prevent smallpox. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, aims to lower vaccine prices for the poorest countries. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) works to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging diseases. A global partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organizations working to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for affected populations during outbreaks. The challenges faced in delivering lifesaving vaccines to the targeted beneficiaries need to be addressed from the existing knowledge and learning from the past. A brief historical perspective on smallpox disease and preventive efforts since antiquity is followed by an overview of 19th century efforts to replace variolation by vaccination, setting up of a few vaccine institutes, cholera vaccine trial and the discovery of plague vaccine. In the post-independence period, the BCG vaccine laboratory and other national institutes were established; a number of private vaccine manufacturers came up, besides the continuation of smallpox eradication effort till the country became smallpox free in 1977. We?ve come a long way since the risky and gruesome early inoculation efforts five centuries ago. Scientific innovation, widespread global health campaigns, and new public-private partnerships are literally lifesavers. Finding a vaccine to protect the world against the new coronavirus is an enormous challenge, but if there?s one thing we can learn from history, it?s that there is reason for hope.