Vaccines have been a thing of the past, and they are works in progress in the scientific community. Vaccines pre-date most of the things we have today- cell phones, clothing materials, you name it. They go as far back as to the man who discovered the cure for rabies lies within the infected party’s cells. Human beings have to thank that man because he led humankind to the discovery which today saves lives by the millions daily.
Discovered in centuries past, vaccines are the compounds that people take into their bodies to fight off disease. The compounds are made by neutralizing microorganisms that fight disease to induce the body to produce antibodies that will fight the disease-causing microbes if ever they show up again. Vaccines are administered in a number of ways, including orally and through injections. Typically, each vaccine is tailored to a particular disease, but diseases that share similar strains can be vaccinated against using the same compound. One example of this type of vaccine is the DPT. DPT is what the layman likes to call their regular ‘tetanus shot.’ The vaccine is used against three ailments namely tetanus, whooping cough, and diphtheria.
More recent developments have also raised the possibility of antidrug vaccines coming into existence soon.
You know that vaccines save lives that would have been lost when individuals succumb to a disease. But apart from that, what other effects do they have worldwide?
Economic Impact
Some diseases make countries lose hundreds of billions in direct and indirect income annually. According to a WHO survey that was conducted in 2008, malaria, a tropical disease usually characterized by intense fevers and nausea, costs Sub-Saharan Africa approximately $100 billion in Gross Domestic Product each year, killing over 400,000 people yearly. Similarly, the United States reported losing $193 billion annually directly and indirectly to the use of illicit drugs in the country.
Look at those figures. Those are millions that could have been used to build roads or to pay for free education in both regions. That money could have funded construction of more hospitals or even financed those countries’ budgets.
So where are these funds lost? The money associated with these epidemics is employed in the setting up of architecture the afflicted will require in treatment. It goes to building hospitals, paying the staff and running preventive programs such as the selling of mosquito nets initiatives. On the other hand, if an individual is sick or addicted, the likelihood of losing jobs or lowered productivity in any country is indisputable. Lower productive power in a country results in lower incomes, lower GDPs and eventually in money lost.
Disease-fighting and antidrug vaccines would go a long way in cutting these costs. For one, immunization of individuals from the known ailments in the disease watch list would increase their chances of survival. Saving lives is a good enough achievement to qualify immunization, but it also has significant financial implications. It would culminate in fewer deaths per year, meaning retaining the size of the nation’s workforce or increase it, depending on how you look at it. A stronger, healthier working population produces more, leading to increased GDP and an overall improved national economy.
Also, antidrug vaccines would cut down on the amounts that countries in Europe and the US splurge on rehabilitation programs allowing funds to be diverted to other sectors of the economy. Countries will be able to save millions and improve their economies at the same time when the antidrug vaccine research pays off. The antidrug vaccine with the most potential currently is the anti-alcohol vaccine.
Other financial benefits of vaccines include the creation of jobs for the vaccine producers and promotion of Big Pharma companies producing the drugs.
Vaccination is also an economic deterrent, however. A lot of funding goes into research and production of the vaccines, while the staff to administer the vaccines as well as the infrastructure to enable them are costly, to say nothing of the vaccines themselves.
Social Impact
Vaccines have prevented and will continue preventing numerous related deaths in the future. In the US alone, the measles vaccine was responsible for preventing17.1 million deaths between 2000 and 2014 according to the CDC. You probably know the heartbreak that comes with losing a loved one be it a friend or a relative. Vaccines spare society from that, even if just for a short while.
Having vaccines against diseases as well as drugs will increase the life expectancy of nations around the world. The elderly in the US have 50% less risk of mortality when vaccinated against influenza, and in other countries, the trend is similar although percentages vary by country. Higher life expectancy means longer, optimistic lives.
Women across continents such as Africa and Asia tend to have more children to guarantee that at least one will live to maturity to care for them in old age. Vaccines increase the survival prospects of children, thereby freeing women from this tradition.
If antidrug vaccines come to fruition, they will additionally lower the risks drugs pose in the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs.
Political Impact
If you have ever scheduled a flight to a nation then had a ticket canceled because of an outbreak in that region, you can empathize with this effect. Disease epidemics are one reason why people are wary of traveling to some parts of the world. If the scientific community simply came up with vaccines to prevent these diseases, let’s just say peace deals would be a whole lot easier to come by.
There are also the supplier-consumer relationships to consider. When the WHO announced the imminent launch of a malaria vaccine in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi, these countries probably looked each other up. After all, they are going to cooperate when the clinical trials begin in 2018. Also, countries which supply the drugs and those that will use the vaccines will build bilateral relationships for the good of both parties making vaccination a tool for globalization.
