Immunization and child health in developing countries: Canada's response

Abstract

According to a national poll conducted in 1999, Canadians considered vaccination to be the most valuable scientific breakthrough of the 20th century (1). Dr Edward Jenner discovered the first vaccine against smallpox in 1798; however, the vast majority of existing vaccines were released on the market in the latter half of the 20th century (2), thanks to the accelerated efforts in vaccine research and development by scientists such as Dr Jonas Salk, who discovered a vaccine against the crippling disease, poliomyelitis. Scientific endeavour, in turn, seeded the creation of a global immunization program. Currently, the delivery of quality immunization services helps to prevent three million deaths annually worldwide, and it is heralded as one of the most cost effective public health interventions available (3).