UN: Pandemic creating 鈥榩erfect storm鈥
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The UN warned yesterday that a 鈥減erfect storm鈥 was brewing, with a raging pandemic disrupting access to routine vaccinations, leaving millions of children at risk from measles and other deadly diseases.
Twenty-three million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines last year, as routine health services were hit worldwide by restrictions aimed at controlling COVID-19 and many parents shunned the clinics that were open for fear of exposure to the virus.
It marks the highest number in over a decade and 3.7 million more than in 2019, according to data published yesterday by the World Health Organization and the UN鈥檚 children鈥檚 agency UNICEF.
And the sharp decline in routine vaccinations comes as many countries have begun loosening restrictions even as the pandemic is far from over.
This has the potential of not only driving up COVID transmission, but also of allowing otherwise vaccine-preventable diseases to begin spreading.
That is because the restrictions in many countries have until now also provided a buffer protecting unvaccinated children against exposure to childhood diseases.
鈥淚n 2021, we have potentially a perfect storm about to happen,鈥 Kate O鈥橞rien, head of the WHO鈥檚 vaccines and immunization department, told reporters.
She warned there was now an accumulation of children who are not immune because they haven鈥檛 received vaccines, and more and more transmission because of too early release of public health and social measures.
鈥淭his is the sort of perfect storm we鈥檙e ringing the alarm bell about right now,鈥 O鈥橞rien said, stressing WHO鈥檚 鈥渉igh concern about these very outbreak-prone diseases.鈥
鈥淲e need to act now in order to protect these children.鈥
The data published yesterday revealed that rising numbers of children across all regions missed first vital vaccine doses last year while millions more missed later vaccines.
Compared with 2019, 3.5 million more children missed their first doses of the three-dose diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine while 3 million more missed their first measles dose.
Even more concerning perhaps, as many as 17 million children, mainly in conflict-affected communities or in under-serviced remote areas or in slum settings, likely did not receive a single vaccine in 2020.
鈥淭he pandemic and related disruptions cost us valuable ground we cannot afford to lose,鈥 UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore said, cautioning 鈥渢he consequences will be paid in the lives and wellbeing of the most vulnerable.鈥
She said even before COVID, there were worrying signs we were beginning to lose ground in the fight to immunize children against preventable child illness. 鈥淭he pandemic has made a bad situation worse.鈥
Global coverage for DTP doses stalled at 86 percent over recent years, but slumped to 83 percent in 2020, meaning 22.7 million children missed out.
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