Abstract Vaccines for humans and animals represent an attractive means to counter the growing global pandemic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, vaccines are only available against a few key bacterial pathogens, and interactions between the human and veterinary vaccine communities have been limited. In April 2024, a Royal Society Science+ Meeting on ‘Vaccines and AMR: from science to policy’ was held in London to review the science of how vaccines reduce AMR, identify research gaps in developing AMR vaccines and discuss policy in advancing development and equitable deployment of such vaccines. Taking a One Health approach, the meeting brought together clinical and veterinary experts from academia and industry, policymakers and funders, from high-income countries and from low- and middle-income countries. Articles based on presentations at the Science+ meeting, including an overall summary of the meeting, its outcomes and recommendations, are included in this issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. This opening article provides the background, rationale and aims of the meeting. This article is part of the Royal Society Science+ meeting issue ‘Vaccines and antimicrobial resistance: from science to policy’.