IDWeek 2019: Why I Vaccinate? A plague doctor comes to ID Week

WASHINGTON, DC - As an infectious diseases physician and researcher in the Philippines, Dr. Salvaña has seen the impacts of HIV, a virus against which no vaccine yet exists. He works hard to spread the word -- of how it spreads, of why it is becoming resistant to treatment there, of needs for WHO treatment guideline updates, for uptake of current guidelines, and for early viral load testing. But when he sees the re-emergence and spread of diseases including polio and diphtheria, long controllable by medical immunizations affecting a population and health system already facing challenges, he knows that words and data may not suffice.