page_title: Vaccination policy
section_title: Immunity and herd immunity
hierarchical_section_title: Vaccination policy / Goals / Immunity and herd immunity
context_page_description: Vaccination policy is the health policy a government adopts in relation to vaccination. Vaccination policies have been developed over the approximately two centuries since the invention of vaccination with the purpose of eradicating disease from, or creating a herd immunity for, the population the government aims to protect. Vaccination advisory committees within each country are usually responsible for providing information to governments that is used to make evidence-based decisions regarding vaccine and immunization policy.
  Vaccinations are voluntary in some countries and mandatory in others, with mandatory vaccination policies sometimes leading to opposition. Some governments pay for all or part of the costs of vaccinations in a national vaccination schedule. Cost-benefit analyses of vaccinations have shown that there is an economic incentive to implement vaccination policies as vaccinations can save a significant number of lives and costs.
  Generally, vaccine supply is highly regulated by local government. Also, because the big cost of developing a vaccine, the prices of vaccine are mostly high. Therefore, vaccine policy is effected by regulations and competition.
context_section_description: Vaccination policies aim to produce immunity to preventable diseases. Besides individual protection from getting ill, some vaccination policies also aim to provide the community as a whole with herd immunity. Herd immunity refers to the idea that the pathogen will have trouble spreading when a significant part of the population has immunity against it. This protects those unable to get the vaccine due to medical conditions, such as immune disorders. However, in order for herd immunity to be effective in a population, a majority of those that are vaccine-eligible must be vaccinated.
  State and local vaccination requirements for daycare and school entry are important tools for maintaining high vaccination coverage rates, and in turn, lower rates of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).
  Vaccine-preventable diseases remain a common cause of childhood mortality with an estimated three million deaths each year. Each year, vaccination prevents between two and three million deaths worldwide, across all age groups, from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles.
caption: Illustration of how herd immunity prevents the spread of disease in a population