Before the appearance of the coronavirus at the end of 2019, the vaccination rate for DTP3 (diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough) and measles was already stagnating at 85%, with 14 million children not vaccinated per year, mainly in Africa, remind the WHO (Organization Health) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund).
The pandemic has impacted immunization campaigns in three-quarters of the 82 countries that responded to an online study conducted in June by these two agencies and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi).
The report is particularly concerned about the drop in DTP3 vaccination in the first four months of the year, mainly due to transport difficulties, restrictions caused by the pandemic or the fear of contamination.
At least 30 measles vaccination campaigns are threatened around the world, the agencies also report.
Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools in health history, and more children are immunized than ever
, recalled in the statement the Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
But the pandemic threatens this progress
, he stressed, calling on countries to ensure the continuation of their immunization policy.
COVID-19 a transformé ce qui était autrefois la vaccination de routine en un défi inquiétant","text":"La COVID-19 a transformé ce qui était autrefois la vaccination de routine en un défi inquiétant"}}" lang="fr">COVID-19 has transformed what used to be routine immunization into a worrisome challenge
, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
We must resume immunization programs urgently before the lives of children are threatened by other diseases. We cannot trade one health crisis for another
, did she say.
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