Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : July 16, 2022 5:44 PM IST
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic may continue to linger for years and increase the burden of other diseases significantly. The Coronavirus outbreak, which is believed to be one of the worst pandemics in modern history, has led to a drastic decline in global childhood vaccination coverage.
New official data published by WHO and UNICEF showed the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in 30 years. It said immunization against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) declined by "5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent."
According to the report, as many as 25 million children missed out on one or more doses of DTP vaccine in 2021 alone. This is 2 million more than the number reported in 2020 and 6 million more than the 2019 figure.
Of these children, 18 million did not receive a single dose of DTP during the year, with the highest numbers recorded from India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the Philippines.
Myanmar and Mozambique recorded the largest relative increases in the number of children who did not receive a single vaccine between 2019 and 2021.
Citing the data, WHO and UNICEF warned that an increasing number of children are at risk from devastating but preventable diseases.
The official report cited many factors that led to the decline in childhood immunization coverage. These include:
Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, said, "This is a red alert for child health. We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunization in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives."
She stressed the need for immunization catch-ups for the missing millions to avoid "more outbreaks, more sick children and greater pressure on already strained health systems."
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also noted that COVID-19 containment efforts should go hand-in-hand with routine immunization programmes for killer diseases like measles, pneumonia and diarrhoea.
