The proportion of children who received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP3) – an indicator of vaccination coverage within and between countries – fell by 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81%. As a result, 25 million children missed one or more doses of DTP through routine immunization services in 2021 alone. This is 2 million more than those missed in 2020 and 6 million more than in 2019, highlighting the growing number of children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases. The decline was due to many factors, including the increased number of children living in conflict and fragile environments where access to vaccination is often difficult, increased misinformation, and issues related to COVID-19 such as service and supply chain disruptions , diversion of resources to response efforts and curtailment measures that limited access and availability of immunization services. “This is a red alert for children’s health. We are witnessing the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccination 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 disruptions and lockdowns of COVID-19, what we are seeing now is a continued decline. COVID-19 is no excuse. We need vaccination coverage for the millions who are being missed or we will inevitably see more outbreaks, more sick children and more pressure on already overburdened health systems.” 18 million of the 25 million children did not receive a single dose of DTP during the year, the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries, with India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the Philippines recording the higher numbers. Among the countries1 with the largest relative increases in the number of children who did not receive a single vaccine between 2019 and 2021 are Myanmar and Mozambique. Globally, more than a quarter of the HPV vaccine coverage achieved in 2019 has been missed. This has serious implications for the health of women and girls, as global coverage of the first dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is only 15%, despite the fact that the first vaccines were licensed more than 15 years ago . It was hoped that 2021 would be a recovery year, in which strained vaccination programs would be rebuilt and the pool of children lost in 2020 would be consolidated. Instead, DTP3 coverage fell back to its lowest level since 2008, which, along with declines in coverage for other key vaccines, has pushed the world off track to meet global targets, including the immunization index for the Sustainable Development Goals. This historic decline in immunization rates occurs against a backdrop of rapidly increasing rates of severe acute malnutrition. A malnourished child already has a weakened immune system and missed vaccinations can mean that common childhood illnesses quickly become fatal for him. The convergence of a hunger crisis with a growing vaccination gap threatens to create the conditions for a child survival crisis. Vaccine coverage declined in every region, with the East Asia and Pacific region recording the sharpest reversal in DTP3 coverage, falling nine percentage points in just two years. “Covid-19 planning and response should also go hand in hand with vaccination for killer diseases such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It’s not an either/or, it’s possible to do both.” Some countries mostly hold back reductions. Uganda has maintained high levels of coverage in routine vaccination programs while launching a targeted COVID-19 vaccination program to protect priority populations, including health workers. Similarly, Pakistan has returned to pre-pandemic coverage levels thanks to high-level government commitment and significant immunization efforts to catch up. To achieve this in the midst of a pandemic, when healthcare systems and healthcare workers were under significant pressure, should be applauded. It will take monumental efforts to achieve universal coverage levels and prevent outbreaks. Inadequate coverage levels have already led to preventable outbreaks of measles and polio in the past 12 months, underscoring the vital role of vaccination in keeping children, adolescents, adults and societies healthy. Coverage of the first dose of measles fell to 81 percent in 2021, also the lowest level since 2008. This means that 24.7 million children missed their first dose of measles in 2021, 5.3 million more than in 2019. Another 14 .7 million did not receive the second dose they needed. Similarly, compared to 2019, 6.7 million more children missed the third dose of the polio vaccine and 3.5 million missed the first dose of the HPV vaccine – which protects girls from cervical cancer later in life. their life. The sharp two-year decline follows nearly a decade of stalled progress, highlighting the need not only to address pandemic-related disruptions but also the challenges of systemic immunization to ensure every child and adolescent has access. WHO and UNICEF are working with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other partners to deliver the global immunization program 2030 (IA2030), a strategy for all countries and relevant global partners to achieve defined targets for disease prevention through vaccination and providing vaccines to everyone, everywhere, at every age. “It is heartbreaking to see more children losing their protection against preventable diseases for the second year in a row. The Alliance’s priority should be to help countries maintain, restore and strengthen routine immunization while implementing ambitious vaccination plans for COVID-19, not only through vaccines but also tailored structural support for health systems that will they manage them,” said Dr. Seth Berkley. , CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. IA2030 partners call on governments and relevant agencies to:
Intensify catch-up immunization efforts to address the backlog of routine immunizations and expand outreach services to underserved areas to reach missed children and implement disease prevention campaigns. Implement evidence-based, people-centred and tailored strategies to build confidence in vaccines and immunization, combat misinformation and increase vaccine uptake particularly among vulnerable communities. Ensuring current pandemic preparedness and response and efforts to strengthen the global health architecture lead to investments in primary health care (PHC) services, with explicit support for strengthening and maintaining basic immunization. Ensure political commitment from national governments and increase domestic resource allocation to strengthen and sustain immunization within PHC. Prioritize health information and strengthen disease surveillance systems to provide the data and monitoring needed for programs to have maximum impact; and Leverage and increase investment in research to develop and improve new and existing vaccines and immunization services that can meet community needs and achieve IA2030 goals.
Notes:
1 Of the countries with at least 10,000 zero dose children in 2021 Read the original post here
