Millions of children around the world have not been routinely immunized during the pandemic

A global decline in routine vaccinations

The researchers analyzed vaccination data from 1980 to 2019 to estimate how many routine vaccinations would have been expected for 2020 had the pandemic never occurred – and compared their models with actual data on vaccinations in 2020. L The study included data on global mobility and routine immunization. reports from last year.

Researchers found that, from January to December 2020, about 30 million children eligible to receive the third dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine and 27.2 million children eligible to receive the first dose of measles vaccine had missed. these doses. Estimates are about 8.5 million more children without a third dose of DTP and about 8.9 million more children without a dose of measles vaccine than those who would have missed doses if the pandemic had not. occurred.

The researchers wrote that the reductions in vaccinations were a 7.7% drop for the third doses of DTP and a 7.9% drop for the first dose of measles vaccine. These disruptions in immunization have had an impact on both high-income and low-income countries.

The results suggest that, among all regions, South Asia saw the largest acute declines in vaccinations, with third doses of DTP given decreasing by 58% and first measles doses by 43% in April of 2006. last year. Since then, improvements have occurred, with vaccinations in South Asia approaching what would have been expected if the pandemic had not occurred by the end of 2020, the researchers found.

In the United States and other high-income areas, the estimated third doses of DTP administered fell 22% and the number of first measles doses fell 20.5% in April of last year. Then, vaccination rates appeared to partially recover until December, with annual reductions of 6% for third doses of DTP and 7.9% for first doses of measles.

The disruption was most severe in April last year in all regions, with the global number of doses administered falling 31.3% for third doses of DTP and 30% for first doses of measles, reported writes the researchers. “The second half of 2020 showed signs of recovery, as the global monthly doses administered began to approach estimates expected in December 2020. Nonetheless, recovery efforts were far from over,” they wrote. .

The “expected estimates” for 2020 in the study are still just estimates the researchers modeled on data from previous years – because no one really knows how many vaccinations would have taken place last year if the pandemic did not. had not happened.

In a commentary published alongside the study, Kaja Abbas of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Vittal Mogasale of the International Vaccine Instituted praised the results of the new study.

“These modeled estimates are important for national immunization programs to plan and implement catch-up immunization services to fill immunity gaps and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases,” Abbas and Mogasale wrote. . “The urgent need for catch-up vaccination efforts is evident for most contagious childhood diseases, including measles and pertussis.”

“We have backed down on other vaccinations”

In separate data, the World Health Organization said Wednesday that 23 million children had not received basic routine immunizations last year overall. This is 3.7 million more than in 2019, according to data released by WHO and UNICEF.

“Even as countries are clamoring to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, we have backed down on other vaccinations, leaving children at risk for devastating but preventable diseases like measles, polio or meningitis,” said the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. ad.

“Multiple disease outbreaks would devastate communities and health systems already battling COVID-19, making it more urgent than ever to invest in childhood immunizations and ensure every child is reached . “

Disruptions in immunization services were rampant last year, the announcement notes. WHO said the 10 countries with the largest increase in the number of children who did not receive a first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine last year were: India, Pakistan, Indonesia , the Philippines, Mexico, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania, Argentina and Venezuela.

Globally, compared to 2019, an additional 3.5 million children last year missed their first doses of DTP vaccine and an additional 3 million children missed their first doses of measles, according to the WHO.

“Even before the pandemic, there were worrying signs that we were starting to lose ground in the fight to immunize children against preventable childhood diseases, including with the widespread measles epidemics two years ago,” said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.

“The pandemic has made a bad situation worse,” Fore said. “With the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we must remember that the distribution of vaccines has always been inequitable, but it is not necessary. “

The kids haven’t caught up yet

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sounded the alarm that children in the United States have yet to catch up with their routine immunizations.

The report warns that “the delay in catch-up vaccination could pose a serious threat to public health that would lead to epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in schools that have reopened for in-person learning.”