FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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The study highlights a concerning drop in vaccines for preventable diseases, with less than 40% of economies meeting the measles herd immunity threshold.
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Growing vaccine hesitancy threatens decades of progress, with adults in at least 16 of 21 economies expressing doubts about the safety and importance of vaccines.
1 May 2025
Washington D.C. – Against a backdrop of global scrutiny into domestic and multilateral health funds and supply chains, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has released the latest Regional Dashboard on Vaccination Across the Life-Course, developed in collaboration with Access Partnership.
The dashboard tracks economies’ progress in meeting key vaccination targets set by the APEC Action Plan on Vaccination Across the Life-Course, focusing on sustainability, scalability, and inclusion of all populations.
This latest suite of data, covering 2023-2024, shows a concerning decline in vaccine confidence and coverage across age groups. Key findings include:
- Between 2015-2023, adults in at least 71% of APEC economies increasingly disagreed with one or more statements: ‘Vaccines are safe’, ‘Vaccines are effective’, and ‘Vaccines are important for children’.
- Across APEC economies, vaccines, and age groups, routine vaccination rates have continued to fluctuate, with 17 economies experiencing decreases in vaccination against one or more measured antigens.
- For paediatric vaccines, the number of economies reaching 90% vaccination rates has steadily decreased, with only 8 economies reaching the 95% herd immunity threshold for measles in 2023 – a 27% drop from 2022.
The report also identifies challenges in data collection, with more than one-third of APEC economies lacking the ability to measure the economic and social impact of immunisation. Limited information on the full value of vaccination could further negatively affect vaccine rates, as health programmes are left without sufficient evidence to secure funding.
The gaps identified in the analysis may also be influenced by evolving trade dynamics, which may impact the operation and continuity of established vaccine supply chains.
Dr Ryan MacFarlane, Access Partnership Vice President of Tech-Enabled Verticals and APEC Vaccine Task Force lead, said: “As World Immunisation Week comes to a close, it is important to reflect on the over 154 million lives that vaccines have saved in the past 50 years, as well as the economic impact of that number.
“Adult vaccines can return up to 19 times their initial investment to society when their significant benefits beyond the healthcare system are monetised. This is the equivalent of billions of dollars in net monetary benefits to society, or more concretely, up to USD 4,637 for one individual’s full vaccination course.
“Working in partnership with member economies and private sector stakeholders to lead the APEC Vaccines Task Force, Access Partnership is committed to helping advance global immunisation and ensuring vaccines are accessible to all. This dashboard highlights the urgent need for stronger immunisation policies and greater cross-border collaboration, particularly in resource-limited economies.”
The APEC Vaccines Task Force remains committed to fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing to support economies in enhancing immunisation coverage. For the full dashboard, visit this page, read APEC’s press release, or contact [email protected].
About Access Partnership
Access Partnership makes innovation work for the world, guiding businesses and governments through complex regulatory challenges. It shapes regulations and policy that are fair and which enable market access for innovative companies, drive growth, and attract investment into national markets. The firm’s roster of world-leading clients includes the largest tech and innovation companies, major government bodies, and multilateral lenders and development organisations. Find out more here: accesspartnership.com.
About the APEC Health Working Group (HWG) and APEC Vaccines Task Force (VTF)
This initiative was undertaken by the APEC Vaccines Task Force (VTF) under the guidance of the APEC Health Working Group. The taskforce was established as a public-private initiative in 2020 to engage policymakers, academia, and private sector representatives to work on vaccine-related issues and to identify the best approach to immunisation so member economies can better prevent infection and disease for all individuals.
About APEC
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum consisting of 21-member economies who aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by strengthening health systems in support of inclusive and sustainable economic growth. APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral forum. Member economies participate on the basis of consensus and respect for the views of all participants. There are no binding commitments or treaty obligations within APEC. Commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis and the principle of consensus and are implemented as appropriate based on the individual circumstances and conditions in each economy.
The member economies are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; and Viet Nam.
