Around 23 million children worldwide missed their basic vaccines last year as health services were inundated with corona cases. This is reported by the World Health Organization WHO and the UN children’s rights organization UNICEF. This is the highest number since 2009.
“While countries rush to get their hands on Covid-19 vaccines, we have fallen back on other vaccines, putting children at risk for devastating but preventable diseases such as measles, polio or meningitis.” WHO Director-General Tedros Gebreyesus warns that multiple outbreaks of these diseases would be catastrophic for countries that already have their hands full with the coronavirus.
All regions affected
Of the more than 20 million children who missed vaccines last year, the vast majority – up to 17 million – did not receive any vaccine. Most of these children live in communities ravaged by conflict, according to WHO and UNICEF. They live in remote places or in slums with limited access to health care.
Especially in Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, vaccination services were severely disrupted by the pandemic last year. But due to limited access to health services and vaccination, in all regions the number of children who missed their first vaccine have increased. Compared to 2019, 3.5 million more children missed their first dose against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough last year. About 3 million more children missed their first measles vaccine.
Vaccines unfairly distributed
According to UNICEF director Henrietta Fore these numbers are a clear warning. “Even before the pandemic, there were worrying signs that we were starting to lose ground in the fight to immunize children against preventable childhood diseases, including with the widespread measles outbreaks two years ago,” she says. “The pandemic has exacerbated a bad situation. With everyone concerned with the fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, let’s not forget that the distribution of vaccines has always been unfair, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Seth Berkley, CEO of the vaccine alliance Gavi, agrees that these numbers should be a wake-up call. “We cannot allow a legacy of Covid-19 to be the resurgence of measles, polio and other deadly diseases. We all need to work together to help countries both defeat Covid-19, by ensuring global equitable access to vaccines, and get basic immunization programs back on track.” (lb)
Read more: Half of unvaccinated children live in Africa: “A lot of mistrust in governments”“
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