Millions of children at risk as vaccination uptake stalls
Progress in children’s vaccination against a variety of potentially fatal diseases have stalled over the past two decades – and even fell in some countries – a new global study suggests.
The situation was aggravated by the cocovated pandemic, leaving millions of unprotected children from diseases such as measles, tuberculosis and polio.
Researchers call for a concerted effort to provide better and more equal access to vaccines.
Children’s health experts warn that reductions in international aid budgets that finance vaccination programs, combined with vaccine skepticism, create a “perfect storm”.
The global vaccination program on childhood was a huge success.
Since 1974, more than four billion children have been vaccinated, preventing around 150 million dead worldwide.
In almost half a century until 2023, researchers say that the coverage of vaccines has doubled.
But since 2010, progress has stagnated, since there are now large variations in the coverage of vaccines worldwide.
A study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, says that measles vaccinations have decreased in nearly 100 countries.
The COVVI-19 pandemic has further aggravated things due to the disruption of vaccination programs during locking.
By 2023, there were nearly 16 million children who had had no infant vaccination – most of them in sub -Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The author of the study, Dr. Jonathan Mosser, of the Institute for metrics and the assessment of health at the University of Washington, in the United States, said that a large number of children remain undervacinated and not vaccinated.
“Childhood routine vaccinations are among the most powerful and profitable public health interventions available, but persistent global inequalities, the challenges of the cocovio pandemic and the growth of disinformation and the hesitation of vaccines have all contributed to failure of faulty immunization,” he said.
Dr. Mosser said that there was now the risk of flambés of diseases such as measles, polio and diphtheria.
All children should benefit from vital vaccinations, he added.
Large deviations remain between vaccination rates in richer and low -income countries.
But reports warn that vaccination rates have dropped in Europe, the United States and other rich countries as well.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group, says the results have a worrying image.
“More children will be hospitalized, permanently damaged and will die of fully avoidable diseases if the trend is not reversed.
“Alas, the global health funding cuts mean that this situation should deteriorate,” said Professor Pollard.
Dr. David Elliman, of the University College of London, says that many factors have contributed to the current situation.
“In the world, the growing number of countries torn apart by civilian disorders and wars, combined with the drastic cuts of foreign aid of rich nations, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, makes it difficult to obtain vaccines to many populations,” he said.
“When it appears that politics is made on the basis of an ill -informed opinion, rather than science, we have a perfect storm,” added Dr. Elliman.
Researchers recommend that all countries are trying to strengthen primary health systems and fight disinformation around vaccines to prevent parents from hesitating to have their children vaccinated.
They also call for a concerted effort to provide better access and more equal to vaccines around the world.
