Immunization is a cornerstone of public health policy and is demonstrably highly cost-effective when used to protect child health. Although it could be argued that immunology has not thus far contributed much to vaccine development, in that most of the vaccines we use today were developed and tested empirically, it is clear that there are major challenges ahead to develop new vaccines for difficult-to-target pathogens, for which we urgently need a better understanding of protective immunity. Moreover, recognition of the huge potential and challenges for vaccines to control disease outbreaks and protect the older population, together with the availability of an array of new technologies, make it the perfect time for immunologists to be involved in designing the next generation of powerful immunogens. This Review provides an introductory overview of vaccines, immunization and related issues and thereby aims to inform a broad scientific audience about the underlying immunological concepts.

免疫接种是公共卫生政策的基石，在用于保护儿童健康时显然具有很高的成本效益。尽管可以说免疫学迄今为止对疫苗开发的贡献不大，因为我们今天使用的大多数疫苗都是通过经验开发和测试的，但很明显，开发新疫苗以应对难以-针对病原体，我们迫切需要更好地了解保护性免疫。此外，认识到疫苗在控制疾病爆发和保护老年人口方面的巨大潜力和挑战，以及一系列新技术的可用性，使得免疫学家参与设计下一代强大免疫原的最佳时机.