Alarmingly, the United Nations has stated in a new report that the epidemic has mostly been to blame for the largest decline in children immunization rates in three decades. According to the article, 25 million youngsters are reportedly not receiving immunizations that could save their lives. The research emphasizes the critical significance of immunization in maintaining the health of children, adolescents, adults, and society. “Inadequate coverage levels have already resulted in avoidable outbreaks of measles and polio in the past 12 months,” it states.
According to the most recent information provided by the UN, the percentage of children who received three doses of the DTP vaccine between 2019 and 2021 decreased by 5%. (DTP3). Within and within nations, DTP3 coverage is used as a signal for immunization. the UN.
In reaction to the most recent data that illustrates the strain on healthcare systems around the world as a result of the pandemic, WHO director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked, “It’s not an either/or situation; it’s feasible to do both.” He continued, “Planning and combating COVID-19 should go hand-in-hand with immunizing against vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea.”
The fall in vaccine coverage has been ascribed to a number of issues. One of the issues mentioned in the UN report is the rise in the number of kids “living in war and fragile environments where immunization availability is sometimes hard.”
In addition to “resource diversion to response efforts, and containment measures that limited immunization service access and availability,” other factors that prevented the implementation of child vaccination programs around the world included increased misinformation, service and supply chain disruption, and the pandemic.
The data shows that vaccination rates are falling across the board, with the East Asia and Pacific region experiencing the highest loss in DTP3 vaccination rates, which fell by nine percentage points in just two years.
Out of 25 million children, 18 did not receive even one dosage of DTP during the year. The biggest numbers of these children were found in India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.
“We are witnessing the largest persistent reduction in kid immunization in a generation,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, describing the situation as a “red alert for child health.” The effects will be quantified in lives.
Even though 2021 was supposed to be the year of recovery, the 25 million figure was six million higher than in 2019 and two million more than the number of kids who missed out on vaccines for avoidable diseases in 2020.
A quarter of the global coverage of human papillomavirus HPV vaccines attained in 2019 has been lost, dealing a severe blow to the fight against cervical cancer.
First dose measles coverage fell by an astounding 81 percent, the lowest levels since 2008.
