Vaccines are among the most effective tools available in modern medicine, offering protection against a wide range of diseases that once caused significant illness, disability, and death. By stimulating the immune system to recognize and fight specific pathogens, vaccines not only protect individuals but also contribute to herd immunity—when the proportion of a population able to repel an infectious agent is sufficiently high so as to limit the spread of disease. This list of vaccine-preventable diseases showcases the vital role of vaccines in disease control and their profound impact on public health.

Cholera

In 1885 an injectable vaccine containing a weakened form of the cholera bacteria was developed and used for a mass vaccination campaign during a cholera outbreak in Valencia, Spain, marking the first time that a cholera vaccine was used in humans. In subsequent decades technological advancements fueled the development of safer and more effective vaccines against the disease, including oral cholera vaccines. Newer oral agents have proved to be more effective at stimulating immunity than injectable vaccines, owing to the direct delivery of oral vaccines to the gut, the site of colonization by cholera bacteria.

COVID-19

The first COVID-19 vaccines were developed and made available to the public under emergency use authorization in late 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of the COVID-19 vaccines initially produced were the first mRNA vaccines to be successfully developed and used in humans. These novel vaccines, based on emerging drug development strategies employing messenger RNA (mRNA), represented a major breakthrough in vaccine technology.

Dengue

Research on a dengue vaccine began in the 1940s, but it was not until 2015 that the first such vaccine—containing a weakened version of the virus developed by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi—was made available for use in dengue-endemic regions. The vaccine, known as CYD-TDV (Dengvaxia), provides protection against all four serotypes of dengue virus. However, the vaccine was later found to significantly increase the risk of dengue in individuals who have not been previously infected with the virus. As a result, its use is restricted to persons with a history of infection.

Diphtheria

Vaccines against diphtheria, a severe and highly contagious bacterial disease, were first put to use in the 1920s. Prior to diphtheria vaccination, there were more than 100,000 cases and 13,000 deaths from the disease each year in the United States alone. As use of the vaccines became more widespread in the following decades, prevalence declined dramatically: in 2023 a total of 24,779 cases of diphtheria were reported worldwide. Today diphtheria vaccination is part of routine childhood immunization schedules, often given as part of the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis).

Hepatitis A and B

Havrix, the first hepatitis A vaccine, was introduced in the early 1990s, being licensed initially in Europe. The vaccine was approved in 1995 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approved another hepatitis A vaccine, Vaqta, the following year; both were recommended for individuals ages 12 months and older. A combination vaccine for protection against both hepatitis A and hepatitis B (Twinrix) was later made available for adults ages 18 and older. All three vaccines are highly effective in preventing hepatitis A virus infection, providing protection for at least 20 years.

The first hepatitis B vaccine, derived from the blood of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), was introduced in the early 1980s. Today, in addition to Twinrix, multiple vaccines are available to protect against HBV, and their use has led to significant declines in the prevalence of HBV infection. In particular, vaccination can reduce the risk of potentially deadly liver diseases, including liver cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), that are caused by chronic HBV infection.

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Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)

In 1985 a vaccine was introduced against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a type of infectious bacterium that can cause potentially deadly disease, particularly in young children. Although relatively ineffective, this first vaccine laid the foundation for the development of a much more effective agent, which became available in 1987 and led to a significant reduction in Hib-related disease.

Herpes zoster (shingles)

Herpes zoster, also called shingles, is a painful condition that is caused by reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the cause of varicella (chickenpox). After a person has had varicella, VZV lies dormant in sensory ganglia (dense groups of nerve-cell bodies). The first vaccine for herpes zoster became available in 2006, and in 2017 Shingrix, a longer-lasting, more effective vaccine, was introduced. Shingrix, the standard vaccine for herpes zoster prevention, has been widely adopted in routine immunization schedules for adults ages 50 years and older and for immunocompromised individuals.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

The first vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer in women, was approved in 2006 by the FDA. The vaccine, sold under the name Gardasil, was initially approved for use in girls and young women ages 9 to 26. It later also received approval for use in males to prevent genital warts and anal cancers caused by HPV. A second HPV vaccine, Cervarix, which protects against HPV types 16 and 18, was approved in 2009 for use in girls, followed by Gardasil 9 in 2014. The latter expanded protection offered by the original Gardasil vaccine from four types of HPV—HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18—to nine types, including HPV-31, -33, -45, -52, and -58. With continued global expansion of HVP vaccination, the World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that vaccine-preventable cervical cancer could be eliminated in the coming decades.

Influenza

Following the isolation of influenza virus in the 1930s, researchers set to work on the development of a vaccine. By the early 1940s their efforts had yielded the first influenza vaccine, which subsequently was tested on U.S. soldiers during World War II. In 1945 the vaccine was licensed for broader use. Each year, researchers monitor influenza viruses as they circulate around the world to determine which strains are most likely to be problematic during the next flu season. These strains are then used to develop the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Japanese encephalitis

Japanese encephalitis is a viral infection that is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. As its name indicates, the condition is characterized by encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. It occurs primarily in rural and low-income areas in Asia and the western Pacific, where it historically occurred in outbreaks—particularly in Japan, Korea, and India—often in association with rice cultivation and pig farms, where the transmitting mosquitoes thrive. Since the introduction of vaccines in the 1930s the number of reported cases of Japanese encephalitis has decreased. Today, thanks to the multiple safe and effective Japanese encephalitis vaccines that became available in the 1990s and 2000s, reductions in incidence have been substantial, particularly among children ages 15 and younger. 

Malaria

Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases known to humankind. In 2022 alone malaria was responsible for 249 million cases of illness and 608,000 deaths. The development of a malaria vaccine was a long and arduous effort, beginning in the 1960s and culminating in 2021 with the approval of RTS,S/AS01, the first malaria vaccine to be approved for widespread use. Research on RTS,S/AS01 emerged in the 1980s. Small trials to test its effectiveness in humans were eventually conducted in Africa in the 2000s, leading to favorable reception by the European Medicines Agency in 2015, which was followed by a pilot program by WHO to assess the real-world effectiveness of RTS,S/AS01. Although not 100 percent effective, the vaccine is a critical tool to be used alongside other malaria control strategies. In 2023 a second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, was approved in Ghana and Nigeria, with hopes for broader use.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

Historically, measles was a major global health threat, causing millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, particularly among infants and young children. Likewise, mumps was exceedingly common among children—in the United States, for instance, most children contracted the disease—and many who were infected with the mumps virus developed long-term complications, including deafness, meningitis, and orchitis (inflammation of the testes). Rubella, meanwhile, was not often a cause of serious illness in children or adults, but it could be devastating for pregnant women, since infection in early pregnancy could lead to birth defects or the loss of a fetus.

The introduction of the first measles vaccine, in 1963, was a key milestone in eventually rendering all three diseases—measles, mumps, and rubella—preventable. In 1968 a more effective measles vaccine became available, initiating a decline in measles cases and deaths. About the same time, a mumps vaccine, containing live attenuated mumps virus, was also introduced, followed shortly thereafter by the first live attenuated rubella vaccine. In 1971, in an effort to simplify vaccination schedules, the three vaccines were combined, giving rise to the MMR vaccine. The MMR vaccine was so effective that, by 2000, endemic measles transmission had been eliminated in the United States, and, between 2000 and 2023, it was eliminated worldwide. It is estimated to have prevented at least 60 million deaths. Mumps and rubella also declined substantially. However, vaccine hesitancy and declining immunization rates have resulted in a recent resurgence of the three diseases, particularly measles, which is highly contagious.

Meningococcal meningitis

The first vaccines for meningococcal meningitis were developed in the 1960s and ’70s. The vaccines protected against the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, which enters the nasopharynx and the bloodstream and can ultimately infect the lining of the brain and spinal cord, causing severe illness and potentially death within 24 to 48 hours. Although effective, the initial vaccines provided only short-term immunity. Later vaccines, such as MenC conjugate, MenACWY, MenAfriVac, and MenB-4C, developed to protect against specific strains of N. meningitidis, provided better protection and longer-lasting immunity, especially in children.

Pertussis (whooping cough)

Pertussis is a bacterial respiratory disease that produces paroxysms of coughing followed by a characteristic long-drawn inspiration, or “whoop,” giving the condition its alternate name, whooping cough. Pertussis is especially threatening for infants. Although the first pertussis vaccine was developed in 1914, it failed to find widespread use. In the 1940s a more effective whole-cell vaccine became available, and in 1948 it was combined with diphtheria and tetanus to produce a diphtheria, whole-cell pertussis, and tetanus toxoid (DPT) vaccine. While effective, whole-cell pertussis vaccines induced sometimes severe side effects. In the 1990s an acellular pertussis vaccine, containing only purified parts of the pertussis bacterium, was introduced and became part of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis). In the 2000s a booster, Tdap, was added to the pertussis vaccine schedule.

Pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal infections, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, can lead to complications such as pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia. Although researchers made the first attempts to develop a pneumococcal vaccine by using heat-killed bacteria as early as 1911, the first pneumococcal vaccine, a polysaccharide vaccine known as PPSV14, was not introduced until 1977. Pneumococcal vaccines based on polysaccharides were later supplanted by conjugate vaccines, such as PCV13 and PCV20, which provide longer-lasting and broader protection. These vaccines have been critical in reducing pneumococcal disease worldwide, particularly in young children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals.

Polio

The development of a vaccine to protect against polio is one of the greatest success stories in modern medical history. Polio caused widespread paralysis and death, particularly among children. At its peak, in the mid-20th century, it affected more than half a million people worldwide each year. Following the introduction of two vaccines—beginning in 1955 with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), developed by Jonas Salk, followed in the early 1960s by oral polio vaccine (OPV), developed by Albert Sabin—cases declined drastically worldwide. Today the disease is on the verge of being eradicated, and OPV continues to play a central role in global eradication efforts.

Rabies

Pioneered by French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur in 1885, the rabies vaccine was the first to be developed for a human viral disease. Pasteur’s vaccine was using attenuated rabies virus from infected rabbit spinal cords. In its first test, it was administered in multiple daily doses for 10 days to a boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog. This marked one of the first documented human post-exposure prophylaxis treatments. The vaccine’s success in saving the boy’s life became a milestone in medical history, proving that a vaccine could prevent a deadly viral infection even after exposure. In the decades that followed, other rabies vaccines were developed using different approaches. Today’s rabies vaccine is made using inactivated virus grown in cell culture, offering high effectiveness and minimal side effects. The vaccine remains distinctive in that it is typically administered after exposure to rabies virus. Although rabies vaccine for pets protects against the same virus, that vaccine differs from the rabies vaccine for humans.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

The development of a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been a long and challenging journey. RSV, a major cause of respiratory infections in infants, young children, and older adults, was first identified in 1956. Vaccine efforts began in the 1960s, but early trials were unsuccessful, delaying progress for decades. In the 2000s advances in vaccine technology, along with a better understanding of RSV—particularly its F protein (fusion protein), which the virus uses to infect host cells—led to the development of several RSV vaccine candidates. In 2023 two of those agents, Arexvy and Abrysvo, became the first vaccines approved for RSV.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus was a leading cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children worldwide, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. However, the introduction of a rotavirus vaccine in 1998 raised new possibilities for the prevention of the disease. Although the vaccine was withdrawn from the market only a year later, owing to an increased risk of intussusception (a form of bowel obstruction) in some vaccinated infants, it opened the door to the development of safer vaccines, including two, RotaTeq and Rotarix, that were approved in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Since the introduction of these agents, hospitalization rates for rotavirus infections have decreased by as much as 90 percent in countries with widespread vaccination.

Smallpox

In 1796 English physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that prior infection with cowpox, a relatively mild disease, provides immunity against smallpox, a much deadlier disease. Jenner’s experiment involving inoculation with cowpox led to the practice of vaccination. In 1967 WHO initiated a global vaccination program against smallpox, and in 1980 the disease was officially declared eradicated.

Tetanus

Before the development of a vaccine, tetanus, caused by infection with Clostridium tetani bacteria, had a high mortality rate, particularly in newborns and among soldiers who were wounded on the battlefield. The first tetanus vaccine, introduced in 1924, contained inactivated tetanus toxin (toxoid) to stimulate immunity. Initially used in military settings to prevent tetanus in wounded soldiers, the vaccine was made available more broadly in the late 1930s. In the 1940s it became part of the DPT vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus). Today multiple tetanus vaccines are available, usually in combination with diphtheria and pertussis vaccines, such as in DTaP and the Tdap booster.

Tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infection that affects the central nervous system. It is caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is transmitted through bites from infected Ixodes ticks in Europe and Asia. It typically occurs in two phases, the first involving symptoms of fever and fatigue and the second involving neurological complications, such as encephalitis, meningitis, and paralysis. Experimental vaccines against TBE were developed in the 1930s and ’40s in the Soviet Union. In the following decades, with refinements in vaccine formulation, vaccination campaigns against TBE were initiated in endemic areas, including the Soviet Union and European countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland. Modern TBE vaccines are highly effective but require booster doses every three to five years.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of deaths related to infectious disease; indeed, in 2023 it caused some 1.25 million deaths worldwide. The tuberculosis vaccine, called BCG vaccine, was developed to protect against infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes the disease. The vaccine became available in the early 1920s, and by the 1940s and ’50s it had become part of national immunization programs worldwide. The vaccine remains essential for controlling tuberculosis, especially in countries where the disease continues to be a major health issue. In particular, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a form of the disease in which bacilli have become resistant to antibiotics used for treatment, is a significant public health crisis in regions with a high burden of tuberculosis, which emphasizes the importance of continued vaccination efforts.

Typhoid

The typhoid vaccine was developed to combat typhoid fever, a life-threatening bacterial infection caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi). Before vaccines, typhoid fever caused millions of deaths worldwide, particularly in areas with poor sanitation. Typhoid fever remains a serious public health concern in less-developed regions, particularly in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the eastern Mediterranean and western Pacific. Nonetheless, vaccines are available. The first typhoid vaccine was developed in the late 19th century. Despite significant advances and the availability of effective agents, typhoid vaccination efforts face challenges involving cost and access to immunization programs in heavily affected areas.

Varicella (chickenpox)

Varicella, also called chickenpox, is a highly contagious viral disease that typically affects children, often between ages two and six. Many children recover without complications, but the infectious agent, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), can lay dormant in sensory ganglia for decades. Eventual reactivation of the virus causes a painful disease in older adults called herpes zoster (shingles). In 1974, scientists in Japan developed the Oka strain, a live attenuated VZV vaccine, which became the basis for varicella vaccines worldwide, including Varivax, the first varicella vaccine approved (1995) in the United States. Varicella vaccine was later incorporated into the MMR vaccine, forming the MMRV vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella).

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an infectious mosquito-borne disease that occurs primarily in tropical regions of the world, particularly in countries in Africa and Central and South America. It is characterized by sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, nausea, and vomiting. The skin and eyes may appear yellow—a condition called jaundice—which gave rise to the disease’s popular name. The first vaccine for yellow fever was developed in the late 1930s. The following decade, mass vaccination campaigns were begun, dramatically reducing yellow fever cases. In 1951 South African-born American microbiologist Max Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for developing the yellow fever vaccine—the first Nobel Prize awarded for vaccine research. The vaccine continues to play a central role in helping prevent outbreaks of yellow fever in endemic regions.