Despite successful control of many infectious diseases since the 19th century, viral diseases remain an important and significant health burden in the 21st century. In fact, the turn of the 21st century saw the emergence of not only new but also re-emergent pathogens such as SARS, MERS, West Nile, Ebola, dengue and Zika viruses. In addition, the modern world is highly mobile and interconnected. The spread of infectious diseases is imminently only a flight away. It is thus of no surprise that epidemics in this century are happening at a much faster pace and spreading quicker to cause disruption to human health, society and the economy. Vaccination, particularly with a live attenuated vaccine (LAV), which has the most successful track record among the various forms of vaccines, remains the most economical public health tool available to prevent or stop the spread of infections and alleviate human sufferings. Rapid mass vaccination of at risk populations to establish herd immunity has been successfully employed to control sporadic YF outbreaks in Africa and South America. More recently, a clinical trial showed that ring vaccination of contacts with Ebola patients completely abrogated secondary virus spread. Vaccination in times of pandemics, however, cannot be limited to children but must include adults in order to rapidly elevate herd immunity rates to halt further transmission.