Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – In 2023, global childhood immunization coverage saw no improvement, resulting in 2.7 million more children being unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
The most recent estimates from WHO and UNICEF’s World Immunization and Equity Monitoring (WUENIC) – which offer the most extensive dataset on vaccination trends for 14 diseases – highlight the urgent need for continued catch-up efforts, recovery, and strengthening of vaccination systems.
“The latest trends demonstrate that many countries continue to miss far too many children,” added the UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
The data reveals that in 2023, the proportion of children who received the full three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine, a crucial indicator of global immunization rates, remained at 84 percent (108 million). However, the number of children who did not receive any doses of the vaccine rose from 13.9 million in 2022 to 14.5 million in 2023.
Over half of these unvaccinated children reside in 31 countries experiencing fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable conditions, where disruptions and limited access to security, nutrition, and health services make children particularly susceptible to preventable diseases.
Moreover, 6.5 million children missed their third dose of the DTP vaccine, which is essential for disease protection during infancy and early childhood.
Unicef stated that these patterns indicate that global immunization coverage has largely stagnated since 2022 and has not yet recovered to 2019 levels. This situation underscores persistent issues such as healthcare service disruptions, logistical obstacles, vaccine hesitancy, and disparities in access to healthcare.
Vaccine hesitancy is largely attributed to the divisive nature surrounding vaccines in recent years where there were a lack of transparency and many people simply asking questions on the safety were ridiculed and many scientists and prominent figures questioning the safety were labelled as vaccine misinformation.
Jay Bhattacharya who is prominent a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University described how any form of debate was shut down. Many other prominent scientists were shut down indicating the need for greater transparency and debate.
The data indicates that progress in measles vaccination rates has stagnated, leaving almost 35 million children with inadequate protection against this severe disease.
Unicef stated that last year, just 83 percent of children globally received their first dose of the measles vaccine through standard health services. Although there was a slight increase in the number of children getting their second dose, reaching 74 percent, these rates are below the 95 percent coverage necessary to prevent outbreaks, reduce unnecessary illness and fatalities, and meet measles elimination targets.
It was further indicated that over the past five years, measles outbreaks affected 103 countries, which account for about three-quarters of the world’s infants. Low vaccination rates (80 percent or less) contributed significantly to these outbreaks. Conversely, 91 countries with high measles vaccination coverage did not experience such outbreaks.
The new data also reveal some positive developments in vaccination coverage. The ongoing rollout of new and less-utilized vaccines, including those for human papillomavirus (HPV), meningitis, pneumococcal disease, polio, and rotavirus, continues to enhance protection, especially in the 57 nations supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance as indicated by Unicef.
The further pointed out that for instance, the percentage of adolescent girls worldwide who received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, which guards against cervical cancer, rose from 20% in 2022 to 27% in 2023. This increase was primarily driven by successful vaccine rollouts in Gavi-supported countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Additionally, the adoption of the single-dose HPV vaccine regimen contributed to the improved coverage.
