Key facts:
Immunization is the most powerful public health tool currently available
Around 30% deaths in children under the age of 5 are vaccine preventable
The global vaccination coverage has stagnated over the past few years
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted immunization uptake and delivery services all over the world
Immunization is currently considered the most powerful public health tool available as it saves the lives of millions of children each year. On top of that, it has been regarded as the most cost-effective public health intervention, with every US dollar spent on vaccinations yielding 16 US dollars in health-care savings and increased economic productivity. However, it has been estimated that in 2019 approximately 14 million children around the world still did not have access to vaccination facilities. These access barriers have led to, for example, one in five infants worldwide being unable to receive the most basic lifesaving 3-dose diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine. According to the World Health Organization, 2-3 million children still die each year of vaccine preventable diseases, mostly in Asia and Africa.
The most important vaccines available nowadays are the following:
Hepatitis B
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)
Meningitis A
Measles
Mumps
Pneumococcal diseases
Polio
Rotaviruses
Rubella
Tetanus
Yellow fever
VIDEO 1 – Providing Polio vaccines in Sierra Leone
Despite intense efforts to bring vaccination to more children, in the last years vaccination coverage has plateaued in many developing countries. Unfortunately, experts predict that for the first time in decades, rates of vaccination coverage could fall due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Henrietta Fore, the UNICEF Executive Director noted that “COVID-19 made previously routine vaccination a daunting challenge”. Many children are likely to be endangered more severely by the routine vaccination not being available and out of reach than by COVID-19 itself.
There are many reasons why children all over the world lost access to immunization services as a consequence of the current pandemic. Even before the pandemic, in some countries it was common for mothers to walk for days at a time to get their child vaccinated. Under the current circumstances, vaccination can become even more unreachable. The main barriers to vaccination include movement restrictions, economic hardships, reduced transportation and fear of catching the disease.
“My baby is getting her baby booster shot nearly three months late because I was scared of going to the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Elizabeth Mbungong (27), mother from Cameroon
Some countries are also having issues with insufficient healthcare staff who can administer vaccines because of lacking personal protective equipment, restrictions on travel or redeployment to duties related to the current pandemic. Additionally, some countries are facing insufficient supply of vaccines due to travel disruptions such as travel bans and cancelled flights.
VIDEO 2 – A mother’s quest by canoe to vaccines in Sierra Leone
If the barriers to child immunization persevere, we might be facing another health emergency in the form of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the near future, which can strain local health systems that are already under pressure of the pandemic. Therefore, we have to be very careful not to trade one health crisis for another. In places where routine immunization can be continued safely, it is crucial that healthcare facilities and staff continue to do so.
However, in the end, the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only crisis standing in the way of children being immunized. Other prominent barriers exist because of armed conflicts, human migration, urbanization, vaccine hesitancy and climate change. It is of utmost importance that no matter the present and future challenges, children do not lose access to essential vaccinations that save millions of lives each year.
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