Vaccines of the 21st century: Are we honouring Pasteur?

Vaccines are without any doubt, one of the greatest human inventions. Vaccines have been key tools in the fight against the only two diseases so far eradicated from the face of the earth: smallpox in humans and more recently, rinderpest in ruminants. Why such a poor balance? The answer is too complex to be addressed in a few lines and would need the input of experts from different fields including politicians, socio-economists, health practitioners, veterinarians… and also scientists. As a