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Vaccination during disease outbreaks reduces mortality by 60%
Last reviewed: 15.07.2025
Emergency vaccinations during outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, Ebola and measles have reduced deaths from these diseases by nearly 60% over the past quarter century, according to a new study.
A similar number of infections are believed to have been prevented, with economic benefits estimated at billions of euros.
The vaccine alliance Gavi, which supported the study, said it had teamed up with researchers from the Burnet Institute in Australia to provide the first global assessment of the historical impact of emergency immunisation campaigns on public health and the global health system.
“For the first time, we have been able to comprehensively quantify the benefits, in human lives and economic impacts, of using vaccines to combat outbreaks of some of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases,” said Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar.
"This study clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of vaccines as a cost-effective tool against the growing threat of disease outbreaks worldwide."
A study published this week in the journal BMJ Global Health looked at 210 outbreaks of five infectious diseases – cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever – in 49 low-income countries between 2000 and 2023.
The rollout of vaccination in these settings had a significant impact: research showed that it reduced both incidence and death by nearly 60% across all five diseases.
For some diseases, the effect was even more impressive:
- Vaccination has reduced mortality from yellow fever outbreaks by 99%,
- and with Ebola - by 76%.
At the same time, emergency vaccination has significantly reduced the threat of further spread of outbreaks.
Immunization efforts during the 210 outbreaks were estimated to have generated nearly $32 billion in economic benefits through prevented deaths and disability-free life years gained alone.
However, the authors note that this amount is likely to be a significant underestimate of total savings, as the calculations did not take into account the costs of outbreak response and the social or macroeconomic impacts caused by the disruptions associated with major epidemics.
For example, the massive Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 (before there were approved vaccines) resulted in cases spreading around the world and is estimated to have cost West African countries more than $53 billion.
The study comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in April that outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases - such as measles, meningitis and yellow fever - were rising globally amid misinformation and a decline in international aid.
The Gavi alliance, which helps vaccinate more than half of the world's children against infectious diseases, is now trying to raise a new round of funding amid global aid cuts and after Washington announced last month it would end support for the group.