One study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive drop in the adoption of childhood vaccines.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF found that the percentage of children who received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine dropped five points to 81% between 2019 and 2021.
This equates to approximately 25 million children missing one or more doses of basic vaccines in 2021 alone.
Millions of children around the world have missed essential vaccines during the pandemic. (Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)
“This is a red alert for children’s health. We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunization in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.
“While a pandemic hangover was expected last year as a result of the interruptions and blockages of COVID-19, what we are seeing now is a continued decline.
“COVID-19 is not an excuse. We need to update vaccination for the missing millions or we will inevitably see more outbreaks, more sick children and more pressure on already tense health systems.”
Of the 25 million children, 18 million did not receive a single dose of basic vaccines and the vast majority live in low- and middle-income countries.
India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the Philippines recorded the highest number of children who were not vaccinated.
A child cries while inoculated during a free polio, rubella and flu vaccination campaign organized by the Ministry of Health in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday, June 18, 2022. An Associated Press analysis of rare data government and public health agency estimates show that Venezuela’s vaccination crisis is growing, making it one of the worst countries in the world to receive necessary vaccinations that protect young children from life-threatening diseases. (Photo AP / Ariana Cubillos) (AP)
Globally, more than a quarter of the HPV vaccine coverage achieved in 2019 has been lost.
“This has serious consequences for the health of women and girls, as the overall coverage of the first dose of the human papilloma virus vaccine is only 15%, even though the first vaccines were authorized. more than 15 years ago, ”the study said.
For measles, the coverage of the first dose was reduced to 81% in 2021, which is the lowest level since 2008.
“This meant that 24.7 million children lost their first dose of measles in 2021, 5.3 million more than in 2019,” the study said.
“Some 14.7 million more did not receive the second dose needed.”
Adoption of polio vaccines had a similar trajectory to measles, with 6.7 million more children missing the third dose in 2021 compared to 2019.
The countries with the most triple vaccination on Earth
After children missed doses in 2020, researchers expected them to catch up in 2021, but vaccination levels have dropped to their lowest level since 2008.
“The planning and approach of COVID-19 should also go hand in hand with the vaccination of deadly diseases such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhea,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.
“It’s not about either, it’s possible to do both.”
Some countries managed to maintain or return to pre-pandemic vaccination levels, such as Uganda and Pakistan.