UN warns of vaccination decline
INCREASED misinformation and the disruption of global supply chains due to Covid are behind the biggest sustained drop in childhood vaccinations in three decades, a UN report said.
The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) fell five percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent, according to official data published last Thursday (14) by WHO and Unicef.
This vaccine is used as a marker for immunisation coverage within and across countries.
Unicef executive director Catherine Russell said the slide “is a red alert for child health.”
“We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunisation in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives,” she added.
Some 25 million children missed out on one or more doses of DTP in 2021, two million more than those who missed out in 2020 and six million more than in 2019, putting a growing number of children at risk from preventable disease. The slide was attributed to multiple factors including an increased number of children living in conflict zones, rising misinformation and service, and supply disruptions from the Covid pandemic, and lockdowns that limited outreach campaigns.
The pandemic “compelled parents and families to pick between putting food on the table and getting their children vaccinated,” said Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO’s immunisation, vaccines and biologicals department.
Of the 25 million, 18 million did not receive a single dose of DTP during 2021, “the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries,” a statement said. Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Philippines recorded the highest numbers of zero-dose children.
Around the world, a quarter of the coverage of human papillomavirus HPV vaccines achieved in 2019 has been lost, a blow in the fight against cervical cancers.
Only 12 per cent of girls are fully protected, despite the first vaccines being licensed over 15 years ago.
First dose measles coverage dropped to 81 per cent in 2021, also the lowest level since 2008.
Declines were seen in every region, though some countries, including Pakistan and Uganda, bucked the negative trend.
The global organisations called on countries to intensify their catch-up vaccination efforts.