Two years ago, UNICEF launched their global campaign #VaccinesWork to emphasize the power and safety of vaccines among parents and wider social media users. The campaign ran all through World Immunization Week to spread the message that together communities, including parents, can protect everyone through vaccines.

However, the campaign is back in a digital mode to advocate for the urgency of the Public to get vaccinated amidst the pandemic.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF, David Beckham, is fronting the global initiative to inspire confidence in vaccines and encourage parents around the world to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases.

Beckham spoke out about the lack of daily experiences due to COVID-19, such as hugs with relatives, sharing time with friends, and being with the ones we love, in a poignant video released ahead of World Immunization Week, and urges parents to get vaccinated so that their children are healthy. He also advised parents to make sure their children get regular vaccines to protect them from illnesses like diphtheria, measles, and polio.

Along with Beckham, UNICEF Ambassadors and supporters Orlando Bloom, Sofia Carson, Olivia Colman, and Alyssa Milano amongst others participated in a series of online vaccination chats with healthcare professionals, students, and vaccine specialists from around the world. Frontline staff from Benin, Indonesia, Jordan, and Peru shared their firsthand awareness and experience of the benefits of immunizing children against deadly diseases.

“After a year of lockdowns, empty classrooms, missed vaccinations, virtual birthday parties, and cancelled family dinners, people all over the world are now getting a COVID-19 vaccine or anxiously awaiting the moment when they will. And it’s an important reminder of the critical role other vaccines play in allowing us to live our everyday lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Whereas today we all know COVID-19 vaccines are the best hope we have of resuming our normal lives, what remains ‘normal’ for far too many children all over the world is no access to vaccines for any preventable diseases whatsoever. This is not a ‘normal’ to which we should return.”