Vaccines save lives, prevent disease, and are cost-effective for the economy. The number of children dying each year has fallen below 10 million for the first time in documented history, which has relation with increased immunization coverage around the world. CDC is working to achieve and sustain several global immunization initiatives to promote global immunization practices to reduce the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases from spreading across different countries.

Immunization is a global health priority for CDC, thus CDC has identified global immunization as a Winnable Battle.

Public Health Foundation (PHF) offers resources that public health and other professionals can use to help reduce the rates of vaccine-preventable diseases. To learn more information about the prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization, take courses on TRAIN such as Immunization: You Call the Shots Module One, Immunization: You Call the Shots Module Three: Polio, and Immunization Strategies: Using the Evidence and What Works to Improve Practice.

For more resources on immunization, visit PHF’s Learning Resource Center to find high quality training materials, and use the Public Health Improvement Resource Center for online tools. Also, order the recently updated Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases ("Pink Book") 12th Edition, 2nd Printing today, which contains updated, comprehensive information on each vaccine-preventable disease. The Pink Book, developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is useful for healthcare providers, clinics, pharmacies, medical schools, student health centers, hospitals, assisted-living facilities, and schools, involved in immunizations.

For evidence-based findings and recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services pertaining to immunization, please visit the Community Guide's website.