Since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years of whom 101 million were infants younger than 1 year. For every death averted, 66 years of full health were gained on average, translating to 10·2 billion years of full health gained. We estimate that vaccination has accounted for 40% of the observed decline in global infant mortality, 52% in the African region. In 2024, a child younger than 10 years is 40% more likely to survive to their next birthday relative to a hypothetical scenario of no historical vaccination. Increased survival probability is observed even well into late adulthood.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8677503/

Vaccine hesitancy has been and is a significant problem in the United States and around the world; the pandemic may be increasing this problem.37 It is defined as a delay in acceptance or refusal of safe and effective vaccination because of fear, fallacies, myths, and misinformation, especially fostered by “anti-vax,” media sensationalism, and fraudulent science.38 Vaccine hesitancy can and has resulted in deaths and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Some effective responses to this problem include valid information from patients' health professionals and the media, and efforts to build trust in the public health apparatus.39"

"Vaccines caused 40 percent of the worldwide decline in infant mortality since 1974"