Childhood immunization rates have suffered “the biggest sustained drop” in a generation, warned the humanitarian aid organization UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), which signal a “red alert for child health “.
The percentage of children who received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3) vaccine, a marker of immunization coverage within and between countries, fell five percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81%, reported the WHO and UNICEF on 15 July.
As a result, 25 million children missed one or more doses of DTP through routine immunization services in 2021 alone, said, two million more than those lost in 2020 and six million more than those 2019.
Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, called for them to catch up on immunization, warning that “the consequences will be measured in lives” and said the data show that there is a “red alert for children’s health” .
He added: “While a pandemic hangover was expected last year as a result of Covid-19 disruptions and blockages, what we are seeing now is a continued decline. The Covid-19 is no excuse. We need to update vaccination for the missing millions or, inevitably, we will see more outbreaks, more sick children and more pressure on already tense health systems. ”
Organizations said the general drop was due to “many factors,” including more children living in “conflict and fragile environments” with “difficult” access to immunization; ‘increased misinformation’; and “Covid-19-related problems,” such as service and supply disruptions, diversion of resources, and containment measures that limit access to vaccination.
“Child survival crisis”
Vaccine coverage fell in all regions, with the East Asia and Pacific region recording the most pronounced investment in DTP3 coverage, falling nine percentage points in just two years, the figures show.
Of the 25 million children who missed one or more doses of DTP, 18 million did not receive a single dose during 2021, most of whom live in low- and middle-income families, with India, Nigeria, Indonesia , Ethiopia and the Philippines have the highest figures. Myanmar and Mozambique are among the countries with the largest relative increases in the number of children who did not receive any vaccine between 2019 and 2021, according to data.
The WHO and UNICEF also found that more than a quarter of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage achieved in 2019 has been lost worldwide. serious consequences for the health of women and girls “, as the global coverage of the first dose of HPV vaccine is only 15%, although the first vaccines were authorized more than 15 years ago.
The organizations warned that the decline in immunization rates is taking place in a context of “rapidly rising rates of severe acute malnutrition,” which together threaten to “create the conditions for a crisis of child survival.” since “a malnourished child has already weakened immunity and been lost.” vaccinations can mean that common childhood diseases quickly become lethal to them. ”
Charities also stressed that “inadequate coverage levels have already led to preventable outbreaks of measles and polio in the last 12 months.”
The coverage of the first dose of measles fell to 81% in 2021, also the lowest level since 2008. This meant that 24.7 million children lost their first dose of measles in 2021, 5.3 million more than in 2019. 14.7 million more did not receive the second required dose. dose.
Compared to 2019, 6.7 million more children missed the third dose of the polio vaccine in 2021 and 3.5 million missed the first dose of the HPV vaccine.
“The sharp two-year decline follows nearly a decade of stagnant progress,” WHO and UNICEF said, “stressing the need not only to address pandemic-related disruptions, but also the challenges of systemic immunization to ensure to reach all children and adolescents “.
Maintain routine immunization
WHO and UNICEF are working with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other partners to deliver the 2030 Immunization Agenda (IA2030), a strategy to achieve the goals set in disease prevention through immunization and delivery of vaccines to everyone.
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said: “The priority of the alliance should be to help countries maintain, restore and strengthen routine immunization, along with the implementation of vaccination plans. ambitious vaccination against Covid-19, not only through vaccines, but also tailor-made structural support for the health systems that will administer them. ‘
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “planning and the fight against Covid-19 should go hand in hand with vaccination of deadly diseases such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhea. “. It’s not a question of one / o, it’s possible to do both ‘.
IA2030 partners call on governments and relevant actors to:
– Intensify efforts to catch up on vaccination to address the decline in routine immunization and expand outreach services to neglected areas to reach missing children and implement campaigns to prevent outbreaks.
– Implement evidence-based, people-centered and tailored strategies to build confidence in vaccines and immunization, counteract misinformation, and increase vaccine adoption, especially among vulnerable communities.
– Ensure that 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 to strengthen and maintain essential immunization
– Ensure the political commitment of national governments and increase the allocation of national resources to strengthen and maintain immunization in the APS
– Prioritize health information and the strengthening of disease surveillance systems to provide the data and monitoring necessary for programs to have the maximum impact.
– Leverage and increase investment in research to develop and improve new and existing vaccines and immunization services that can meet the needs of the community and achieve the goals of AI2030.
In May, official data revealed that only 7% of children aged 5 to 11 had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in England so far.
In April, Somerset GPs were told to assess the “feasibility” of offering childhood immunizations in the coming years, as stricter targets have meant that a number of GP practices will lose tens of thousands. of income for childhood vaccinations.
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