Rising misinformation and disruption to global supply chains due to COVID-19 are behind the largest sustained fall in childhood vaccines in three decades, according to a UN report.
The percentage of children who received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine fell five percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 percent, according to official data released Thursday by the WHO and UNICEF.
This vaccine is used as a marker for immunization coverage within and between countries.
Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, said the slide “is a red alert for children’s health”.
“We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunization in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives,” he added.
Some 25 million children missed one or more doses of DTP in 2021, two million more than those lost in 2020 and six million more than in 2019, putting an increasing number of children at risk of suffer from preventable diseases.
The slide was attributed to multiple factors, such as an increase in the number of children living in conflict zones, increased misinformation and service and supply disruptions to the COVID-19 pandemic, and blockages that limit outreach campaigns.
The pandemic “forced parents and families to choose between putting food on the table and vaccinating their children,” said Kate O’Brien, director of WHO’s immunization, vaccines and biologics department.
Of the 25 million, 18 million did not receive a single dose of DTP during 2021, “the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries,” a statement said.
Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and the Philippines recorded the highest number of children with zero dose.
Worldwide, a quarter of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage achieved in 2019 has been lost, once in the fight against cervical cancers.
Only 12 percent of girls are fully protected, even though the first vaccines were authorized more than 15 years ago.
Observers expected 2021 to be a year of recovery after the 2020 confinements, but instead it was the worst year for DTP coverage since 2008 and found itself in a context of rising rates of severe acute malnutrition.
“The convergence of a hunger crisis with a growing immunization gap threatens to create the conditions for a child survival crisis,” the statement says.
The measles coverage of the first dose dropped to 81 percent in 2021, also the lowest level since 2008.
Declines were observed in all regions, although some countries such as Pakistan and Uganda counteracted the negative trend.
World organizations called on countries to intensify their vaccination efforts to catch up. Detailed datasets can be accessed on UNICEF and WHO websites.
© Agence France-Presse