Childhood Vaccination Rates Declining Globally
- Global progress on childhood vaccination has slowed, jeopardizing the World Health Organization's (WHO) goals for 2030, according to a new study published in The Lancet.
- The study, led by Jonathan Mosser at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, analyzed data from over 1,000 sources to estimate coverage of 11...
- According to the study, between 1980 and 2023, global vaccine coverage doubled for diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio, and tuberculosis.The number of zero-dose children decreased...
Global childhood vaccination rates are faltering, placing WHO’s 2030 goals at risk. A new study reveals a concerning slowdown in immunization progress, threatening to reverse gains made in reducing the number of unvaccinated children. The research highlights stagnating vaccination coverage, especially impacting high-income nations, and underscores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While notable advancements occurred between 1980 and 2019, including a 75% reduction in zero-dose children, momentum has stalled, and even declined in several regions for specific childhood vaccines. Access issues and rising vaccine hesitancy further complicate efforts to reach vulnerable populations.News Directory 3 provides insights into global health trends. Learn how these trends impact the future of immunization. Discover what’s next …
Global Childhood Vaccination Rates Stalled, WHO Goals Unlikely
Global progress on childhood vaccination has slowed, jeopardizing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goals for 2030, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Researchers found that vaccination coverage has stagnated in recent years, threatening efforts to reduce the number of zero-dose children and achieve widespread immunization coverage.
The study, led by Jonathan Mosser at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, analyzed data from over 1,000 sources to estimate coverage of 11 childhood vaccinations. The findings reveal that while there was significant progress between 1980 and 2019, momentum has slowed, especially in high-income countries.
According to the study, between 1980 and 2023, global vaccine coverage doubled for diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio, and tuberculosis.The number of zero-dose children decreased by 75% between 1980 and 2019. Though, this progress stalled between 2010 and 2019, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 21 of 36 high-income countries, coverage for at least one vaccine dose against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, or polio declined. The proportion of children receiving the measles vaccine fell in 100 countries during this period.
William Moss, a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, noted that reaching the remaining unvaccinated children has become increasingly difficult due to access issues and rising vaccine hesitancy. Many of these children live in remote areas, densely populated urban settings, or conflict zones.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these challenges, with global vaccination rates declining and not returning to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.The number of zero-dose children peaked at 18.6 million in 2021, up from 14.7 million in 2019.
Low- and middle-income countries have been disproportionately affected, with over 50% of the 15.7 million zero-dose children living in Nigeria, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, and Brazil.
The study projects that only the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is likely to achieve 90% coverage by 2030, and even that is an optimistic scenario. Cuts in global immunization funding pose further risks to vaccination programs. The analysis did not account for recent shifts in U.S.federal funding, such as to USAID, according to Mosser.
Art Reingold, a professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley, emphasized the importance of maintaining and building on prosperous immunization efforts to prevent the reversal of progress made.