The term 'vaccine hesitancy' refers to the delay in accepting or refusing vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Vaccine hesitancy is a complex and context-specific phenomenon that varies according to time, place and vaccine[1].
Vaccine hesitancy is identified by the WHO as one of the top ten risks to global health in recent years. Vaccination is one of the most impactful and cost-effective actions to reduce the burden of disease of communicable diseases; vaccination currently prevents 2-3 million deaths per year worldwide and another 1.5 million could be prevented if global vaccination coverage improved[2].
[1] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Vaccine Hesitancy
[2] WHO, Ten threats to global health in 2019
