Childhood immunisation begins to pick up post-pandemic, finds UN data

Over 4 million more children were vaccinated in 2022 compared to the year before, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a press release July 18, 2023. Even though immunisation services have picked up pace since the COVID-19 pandemic, recovery remains uneven. 

The three-dose vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough), also known as the DTP3, is used as the global marker for immunisation coverage. 

Over 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunisation services in 2022, compared to 24.4 million children in 2021.

Read more: COVID-19 fallout: 25 million children missed routine vaccinations last year

The number remains higher than the 18.4 million children who missed out in 2019 before pandemic-related disruptions, underscoring the need for ongoing catch-up, recovery and system strengthening efforts.

The numbers were estimated from 183 countries, using data based on the take-up of the DTP jab. It included children who got no vaccines at all as well as those who missed any of the doses necessary for protection. Globally, coverage rates were at 86 per cent pre-pandemic and 84 per cent in 2022.

Childhood immunisation coverage

Source: WHO

The numbers are encouraging, but there are concerns the most vulnerable were being left behind, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

Read more: WHO launches ‘The Big Catch-Up’ to restore immunisation progress lost during pandemic

The progress is also unequal. Large lower-middle income countries such as India and Indonesia have shown strong recoveries as they stepped up efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunisation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, this has masked ongoing problems in many smaller and poorer countries, the UN agencies said. 

Of the 73 countries that experienced significant declines in immunisation coverage during the pandemic, 15 have recovered to pre-pandemic levels and 24 are on the road to recovery. However, most alarmingly, 34 have either stagnated or continued declining. These concerning trends echo patterns seen in other health metrics. 

Vaccination against one of the most contagious pathogens, measles, has not recovered as well as other vaccines. This has increased the risk of measles infection for an additional 35,2 million children.

Read more: Africa needs to vaccinate 33 million children within 2 years to be on global immunisation track: WHO

The first dose measles vaccination coverage increased to 83 per cent in 2022 from 81 per cent in 2021, but remained lower than the 86 per cent achieved in 2019, according to WHO and UNICEF. 

Only rates of the cervical cancer-preventative human papillomavirus or HPV vaccination have returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, they remain below the 90 per cent target, at 67 per cent in high-income countries and 55 per cent in low- and middle-income countries where the vaccine has been implemented.

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