title: Governments, off-patent vaccines, smallpox and universal childhood vaccination.
abstract: WHO is now celebrating more than 30 years of freedom from smallpox. What was originally seen as a victory over an ancient scourge can now be viewed as an epidemiologically driven programme to overcome governmental inertia and under-achievement in delivering an off-patent vaccine. Though efforts are accelerating global vaccine use, a plea is made to push the world's governments to commit to universal childhood vaccination via a proposed new programme. The latter should begin by exploiting a long list of ever more affordable off-patent vaccines, vaccines that can virtually eliminate the bulk of the world's current vaccine-preventable disease burden.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Music
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006076:Government; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007223:Infant; D012899:Smallpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines