| Part of a series on |
| Vaccination |
|---|
Mass vaccination is a public policy effort to vaccinate a large number of people, possibly the entire population of the world or of a country or region, within a short period of time. This policy may be directed during a pandemic, when there is a localized outbreak or scare of a disease for which a vaccine exists, or when a new vaccine is invented.
Under normal circumstances, vaccines are provided as part of an individual's medical care starting from birth and given as part of routine checkups. But there are times when there is a need to quickly vaccinate the population at large and provide easy access to the service. When this occurs, temporary clinics may be established around communities that can efficiently handle the many people within at once.
Challenges of a mass vaccination effort include vaccine supply, logistics, storage, finding vaccinators and other necessary staff, vaccine safety and public outreach.[1]