Vaccines account for 40% of the decline in infant mortality over the last 50 years.

Infant mortality rates have plummeted over the last 50 years. Globally, they’ve fallen by over two-thirds, from around 10% in 1974 to less than 3% today.

A recent study — published in The Lancet by Andrew Shattock and an international team of researchers — estimates that 40% of this decline has been driven by increased access to crucial vaccines.

The chart shows the actual reduction in infant mortality rates with vaccination (in blue) and the researchers’ estimates for a hypothetical scenario in which vaccines wouldn’t have been rolled out (in red).

Based on these figures, vaccines are estimated to have saved 150 million children over the last 50 years.

(This Daily Data Insight was written by @_HannahRitchie.)

点击图片查看原图