3 million kids miss out on DTP-1 jab
Globally 23 million children couldn’t get the basic vaccines due to Covid-19
India recorded the greatest increase in the world in the number of children not receiving a first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combined vaccine in 2020, the UN has said, noting with concern that 23 million children globally missed out on basic vaccines through routine immunisation services last year due to disruptions caused by Covid-19.
Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF showed that 23 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines through routine health services in 2020, the highest number since 2009 and 3.7 million more than in 2019.
Vaccination hit by Covid
This latest set of comprehensive worldwide childhood immunisation figures, the first official figures to reflect global service disruptions due to Covid-19, show a majority of countries last year experienced drops in childhood vaccination rates. “Up to 17 million children likely did not receive a single vaccine during the year, widening already immense inequities in vaccine access,” it said, adding that most of these children live in communities affected by conflict, in underserved remote places, or in informal or slum settings where they face multiple deprivations.
“Even as countries clamour to get their hands on Covid-19 vaccines, we have gone backwards on other vaccinations, leaving children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases like measles, polio or meningitis,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“India is experiencing a particularly large drop, with DTP-3 coverage falling from 91 per cent to 85 per cent,” the agencies said. They added that disruptions in immunisation services were widespread in 2020, with the WHO Southeast Asian and Eastern Mediterranean Regions most affected.
“As access to health services and immunisation outreach were curtailed, the number of children not receiving even their very first vaccinations increased in all regions,” they said.
Steady fall
As compared with 2019, 3.5 million more children missed their first dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP-1), while 3 million more children missed their first measles dose. The UN agencies said that even before the pandemic, childhood vaccination rates had stalled at around 86 per cent.