evidence: Gates Foundation COVID-19 Response FAQ [...] That decision is best made by individual governments. Vaccines are a powerful tool to fight disease. We’ve seen how COVID-19 vaccines have helped prevent severe illness and save lives. Vaccines have been responsible for eradicating smallpox and preventing people from getting diseases such as polio, meningitis, and measles. In some cases, the rate of disease spread has been reduced by more than 90%. Safe and effective vaccines are crucial to controlling COVID-19. Our priority is ensuring that these tools are accessible to and affordable for all. [...] No. Billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, and regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have reviewed significant safety data and determined that the vaccines are safe and effective. These safety reviews use rigorous criteria in evaluating information from large-scale clinical trials and ongoing vaccine rollouts.