Children who fell behind in vaccinations—or missed them entirely—during the pandemic are dying from preventable diseases. Without serious catchup, unnecessary illness and death will increase.
What’s happening: 60 million children, most in lower income countries, have not received a single dose of any childhood vaccines, and they’re now “aging out of routine vaccination programs,” reports The New York Times. An additional 85 million are under-vaccinated.
The impact: These “zero-dose” children account for more than half of childhood deaths from vaccine-preventable illnesses, says Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. For measles, deaths increased 43% between 2021–2022, from 95,000 to 136,200, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Why it matters: Without any vaccination activities between 2000 and 2019, 10 pathogens would have caused an additional 50 million deaths in 112 countries, a Gavi analysis shows. Meanwhile, 95% vaccine coverage could eliminate measles, CDC says.
It’s not enough to strengthen current vaccine regimes. To reach the unvaccinated “zero-dose” children, who are typically too old for immunization programs, countries need Gavi to support special outreach campaigns, UNICEF says.
What’s next: Gavi’s board meets next month to consider a UNICEF request for $350 million to reach the “zero-dose” children, per The New York Times.
A promising step: Shipments of GSK’s malaria vaccine arrived in Cameroon—the first delivery “to a country not previously involved in the malaria vaccine pilot,” signaling a potential scale-up of vaccination programs across Africa, reports the World Health Organization.
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