Pandemics have exacerbated childhood immunization rates worldwideExBulletin

On Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Karachi, Pakistan, healthcare workers will administer polio vaccine to their children.

Fareed Khan / AP

Hide captions

Switch captions

Fareed Khan / AP

On Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Karachi, Pakistan, healthcare workers will administer polio vaccine to their children.

Fareed Khan / AP

Last year, a pandemic service interruption caused approximately 23 million children around the world to miss regular childhood vaccinations. Report of the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

The new analysis, released Thursday, focuses on data from around the world. Two organizations said that children’s immunization rates declined in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

India showed the largest increase in children who did not receive the first diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP) vaccine between 2019 and 2020. In 2020, India reported that more than 3 million children did not receive the first DTP vaccine. According to the data, we did not get a shot in 2019.

Still, this trend is a serious problem all over the world. The organization said that in 2020, the number of children who missed the world’s most important first vaccination increased, and the number of children who missed subsequent vaccines increased by millions.

Children usually receive the first dose of DTP vaccine Under 7 years old..First dose of measles vaccine Usually received 12 to 15 months old.

According to WHO, figures released this week show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine medical services such as vaccines and tests, as well as immunization activities around the world.

The worst impact is on children living in conflict-prone areas, remote areas, or slums. These are areas where access to basic health and social services is very restricted, and WHO and UNICEF are likely to have up to 17 million children not receiving a single vaccine that year. It states.

COVID-19 “has exacerbated the bad situation,” said UNICEF Secretary-General Henrietta Fore.

“This evidence should be a clear warning. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated turmoil sacrifice valuable land that we cannot afford to lose. The result is the most vulnerable. You will be paid for people’s lives and happiness. “

Childhood vaccination rates have been stagnant for years

According to this latest report, global health officials have seen signs of concern that efforts to immunize children against preventable illnesses have failed even before the pandemic.

For example, before the onset of the coronavirus, the number of children around the world got stuck, at least to get the first shot of the measles vaccine. About 86% for more than 10 years..

WHO and UNICEF estimated that less than 70% of children received the recommended second measles dose. Global health organizations recommend 95% immunization levels to protect against measles outbreaks.

“Even as the hustle and bustle of the country To get the COVID-19 vaccine, we turned back other vaccinations, leaving children at risk for catastrophic but preventable diseases such as measles, polio and meningitis. “WHO Secretary-General Dr. Tedros Adanom Gebreyes said.

In 2018, cases worldwide surged among unvaccinated infants of the disease, killing more than 140,000 people with measles. Almost half of measles cases worldwide In 2018, I came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Madagascar, Somalia and Ukraine.

In the Americas and the Caribbean, WHO reports that immunization levels continue to decline. From 91% in 2016, only 82% of children are fully vaccinated against DTP.

Health officials believe that lack of funding, false information about vaccine safety, and community instability have contributed to lower immunization rates in children.

Meanwhile, preventable illness outbreaks have occurred among children in the United States in recent years. In 2019, measles outbreaks occurred in 31 states. Approximately 1,280 individual cases were confirmed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This was the highest number of cases reported in the United States since 1992. Most cases were among people who had not been vaccinated against measles.

“The outbreaks of multiple illnesses are devastating to communities and healthcare systems that are already fighting COVID-19, investing in childhood immunization and ensuring that all children are reached,” Ghebreyesus said. It’s more urgent than ever. ”