Efforts to vaccinate children worldwide against deadly diseases such as measles and diptheria began to recover in 2022 after a historic backslide caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
But the recovery remains uneven, with strong bouncebacks in large lower-middle income countries such as India and Indonesia masking ongoing problems in many smaller and poorer countries, the agencies said in a statement.
In 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more routine childhood vaccines, down from 24.4 million children in 2021. Despite the progress, the numbers are still higher than in 2019, when 18.4 million children were not fully protected.
The numbers are estimated from 183 countries, using data based on the take-up of the three-dose diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) jab, and include children who got no vaccines at all as well as those who missed any of the doses necessary for protection.
Globally, coverage rates were at 86% pre-pandemic, and 84% in 2022.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the numbers were "encouraging", but there were concerns the most vulnerable were being left behind.
"When countries and regions lag, children pay the price," he said.
Of the 73 countries that saw substantial declines in routine coverage during the pandemic, 34 – including countries such as Angola to Syria - have seen no improvement since or even got worse. Fifteen have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and 24 were on the route to recovery, the WHO and UNICEF said.
The agencies also warned that measles vaccinations have not recovered as quickly, with 21.9 million children globally missing their first dose in 2022 – 2.7 million more than in 2019 – and 13.3 million their second. In low-income countries, coverage rates for measles actually continued to decline last year, to 66% compared with 67% in 2021, said Kate O'Brien, WHO head of immunization. Measles outbreaks are already on the rise.
"When children are not vaccinated, that means they are not immune to life-threatening diseases," O'Brien told Reuters in an interview. "Children are going to die.
Only rates of the HPV vaccination, which prevents cervical cancer, have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. But they remain below the 90% target, at 67% in the high-income countries and 55% in the low and middle-income countries where the shot has been introduced.
Alongside Gavi, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners, the WHO and UNICEF launched a push earlier this year to help countries catch-up on childhood vaccination.
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
4 Comments
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TaiwanIsNotChina
These vaccines should be free, even in the most repressive regimes on earth.
virusrex
Not yet back on track but at least a very important recovery is being achieved, congratulations on those countries and institutions that recognize the importance of vaccines to keep populations healhty and safe and to the international institutions that are working to keep this recovery ongoing.
This drop is unfortunately one of the many unavoidable consequences of covid, only people living in complete denial of the realities of the world would think public health efforts would continue unaffected during covid, as if resources of every type that were consumed for the pandemic could be magically produced so there was no need to use part of what was dedicated to other things that had lower priority at the moment.
Still, now that the pandemic is much more under control the timing to recover this lost ground is extremely important. Trying to vaccinate after outbreaks become common is a losing proposition so international support is necessary to help those countries that are still lagging behind.
Mr Kipling
A man down the pub said that vaccines caused lab rats to become Gay. It must be true because he got it from the internets. Also a famous named Democrat possibly running for president says that vaccines cause autism....IN HUMANS! I've never has a vaccine for rabies and yet never caught it....ever!
These vaccines, aren't they just a sneaky way for big pharma and Bill Gates to get those micro chips in our arms?
I think I covered most of the anti vax nonsense so no need for others to add any more.
theResident
I think you have Mr.Kipling! Excellent Post.
On a serious note, now that the anti-vaxxers have had their 15 minutes of fame, Lets hope that Children get the important vaccines again AT the right time in their lives. London has a small problem with Measles right now due to drops in vaccination caused by scaremongering.
As for the HPV vaccine - Get those numbers back up, the drop in Cervical Cancer was just beginning to show up.