🌅 Today’s stat: 154 million

Sunrise Stat
March 11, 2025

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Global vaccination efforts since 1974 have saved at least 154 million lives, the vast majority of which have been infants (101 million). The figure is equivalent to six lives saved every minute of every year, adding an average 66 years of full health for each life saved.

Of the vaccines analyzed, the measles vaccine had the most significant impact on reducing infant mortality, accounting for 60% of the lives saved. Overall, vaccination efforts against 14 diseases (diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever) have directly contributed to a 40% reduction in infant mortality around the world.

The exemption rate from state-required vaccines in the U.S. reached 3.3% during the 2023-2024 school year, up from 3.0% the year prior, and increased in 41 jurisdictions, exceeding the crucial 5% mark in 14 states (rates above 5% limit vaccination coverage in the community, increasing the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases). The ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas—which has infected 198 people, mostly kids, and led to the first U.S. death from measles in a decade—has seen cases arise mainly in Gaines County, where the vaccine exemption rate last year was 13.6% in grades K-12, nearly six times higher than the statewide average of 2.3%.