Epidemiological Efficacy of Vaccination

Epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination: understanding the indicator

Mass preventive immunization is one of the most effective methods of preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Vaccination helps create immunity in the majority of the population, reducing the likelihood of infection and spread of infection in the community. However, how can one determine the effectiveness of vaccination?

To assess the effectiveness of vaccination, a quantitative indicator is used, which is called epidemiological effectiveness. This indicator expresses the ratio of the incidence of a specific infectious disease before and after mass preventive immunization.

Before we look at how epidemiological effectiveness is calculated, it is important to understand a few terms. Incidence is the number of new cases of a disease in a certain time period in a certain population. For example, if a city had 100 new cases of influenza in a week, the incidence would be 100 people per 100,000 people in the city's population.

When we talk about mass preventive immunization, we assume that a significant part of the population is vaccinated. After vaccination, a person develops immunity to infection, and the likelihood of infection decreases. This means that the incidence should decrease after mass vaccination.

The epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination is calculated by comparing the incidence before and after vaccination in a population. To do this, it is necessary to establish a baseline incidence rate before vaccination and compare it with the incidence rate after vaccination. The difference between these values ​​will be an indicator of epidemiological effectiveness.

For example, suppose that before mass vaccination, the flu incidence in a city was 100 people per 100,000 people per week, but after vaccination it dropped to 10 people per 100,000 people per week. This means that the epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination was 90%.

Of course, when calculating epidemiological effectiveness, it is important to take into account many factors, such as the effectiveness of the vaccine itself, vaccination coverage of the population, and so on. The effectiveness of vaccination may also vary among different populations, depending on age, health, and other factors.

In conclusion, the epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination is an important indicator that allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of mass preventive immunization in reducing the incidence of a specific infectious disease. This indicator is calculated based on a comparison of the incidence before and after vaccination in the population. However, to obtain more accurate results, it is necessary to take into account many factors affecting the effectiveness of vaccination. Despite this, vaccination is still one of the most effective methods of preventing the spread of infectious diseases and helps preserve the health and lives of many people around the world.



Vaccination is one of the most effective methods of preventing infectious diseases. The epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination shows how much the incidence rate has decreased after mass vaccination compared to the incidence rate before vaccination.

The epidemiological effectiveness of vaccination is expressed by a quantitative indicator, which is calculated as the ratio of the incidence before and after vaccination. The higher this indicator, the higher the epidemiological effectiveness of the vaccine.

Mass vaccination can significantly reduce the incidence of disease in the population due to the formation of collective immunity. Vaccination remains one of the key methods for preventing and controlling infectious diseases throughout the world. Assessing epidemiological effectiveness helps determine the contribution of vaccination to reducing the burden of infectious diseases.