Princess Mary: 'the simple truth is vaccines save lives'

Princess Mary has taken a stand on vaccinations, claiming they "save lives" and urging people to dismiss "persistent rumours" they can be harmful.

The Crown Princess of Denmark emphasised the "fundamental role" vaccines play in preventing diseases in a video released by the World Health Organisation for this year's annual European Immunisation Week.

Calling them a "lifelong responsibility" during every stage of life, Princess Mary, who was born in Hobart, Australia, encouraged people to dismiss anti-vaccination rhetoric.

"The effect of persistent rumours can cause some people to delay or decide against vaccination, but no rumour can be as compelling as the simple truth that vaccines save lives," she said.

The Danish monarch pointed to how vaccines can prevent babies from deadly diseases, young women from cervical cancer and older people from dying due to complications from pneumonia.

"Relatively few people living in the region today will ever experience firsthand the effects of polio, measles, mumps, congenital rubella syndrome, diphtheria, ptosis or tetanus," she said.

"Tremendous progress in recent decades in advancing the European region’s health, education and living standards. Vaccines have played a fundamental role in this progress, and vaccines also have a fundamental role to play in achieving the global 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Princess Mary has been a patron of the WHO's Regional Office for Europe since 2005.