Between 2019 and 2021, the percentage of children who received three doses of DTP3, the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, dropped by 5 points. This reduced the coverage to 81 per cent.
WHO and UNICEF stated that DTP3 coverage is used as a marker for comprehensive vaccination coverage.
“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 That exposes the growing numbers. Children are at risk of devastating but preventable diseases,” he said. Eighteen million of these children did not receive a single dose of the vaccine, most of whom lived in low- and middle-income countries.
Other reductions were seen in HPV, with more than a quarter of coverage achieved in 2019 being lost, and measles, with which first-dose coverage dropped to 81% in 2021. The WHO notes that this is the lowest level since 2008 and has a mean of 24.7. Millions of children missed their first dose in 2021.
All regions experienced declines in vaccine coverage, with the largest declines for DTP3 coverage in East Asia and the Pacific. However, some countries including Uganda and Pakistan were able to halt the decline.
Several factors were behind the decline, including an increase in the number of children living in conflict and other vulnerable settings, an increase in misinformation, and issues related to COVID-19.
“This is a red alert for child health. We are witnessing the largest sustained decline in childhood immunizations in a generation. Outcomes will be measured in life,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “While a pandemic hangover was expected last year as a result of COVID-19 disruptions and lockdowns, what we are seeing now is a continued decline. COVID-19 is no excuse. We need vaccination catch-up for the millions missing. need or we will inevitably see more outbreaks, more sick children and more strain on already strained health systems.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “planning and dealing with COVID-19 must go hand in hand with vaccination for life-threatening diseases such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhoea. It is not a question of either/or both, it is a question of either/or both”. It’s possible to do both.”