Despite rapid advances, what does the global ‘Immunization Gap’ tell Us?

????Despite Rapid Advances, What Does the Global ‘Immunization Gap’ Tell Us?

Every year, the world commemorates the ‘World Immunization Week’ in the last week of April to underscore the importance of a collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against various kinds of diseases globally. As humanity has entered the third year of the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic, the theme for this year’s ‘World Immunization Week’ is ‘Long Life for All’ and it could not have arrived at a more opportune time. While the entire focus has been on mitigating the COVID-19 crisis, the wide gaps in routine childhood vaccinations, a lacuna in vaccine distribution, inequitable access to vaccines, and misinformation undermining the confidence of many families, have all resulted in this imbroglio.?

??Even before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the global immunization coverage, especially in those in developing countries had resulted in a decline because of a number of factors. From countries witnessing large annual birth cohorts, challenges in reaching out to newborns in remote areas to communities cut-off due to natural disasters or conflicts, the problems were aplenty. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, which is in its third year, and has impacted humanity in unprecedented ways, has resulted in a major backsliding in routine immunization for children. [1]

From Bad to Worse

Even as countries continue to show all kinds of urgencies in getting their citizens vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, the pandemic has caused a terrible disruption in routine immunization coverage. This has left millions of children around the world at risk from some of the life-threatening but preventable diseases like Measles, Meningitis, Diphtheria, and even Polio.?

??If reports by the World Health Organization are to be believed, then more than 23 million children missed out on basic vaccinations against VPDs through routine immunization services, with nations in Africa, South East Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean regions getting most affected.?

?Unfortunately, with the very idea of an equitable and empathetic distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at the forefront of everyone’s minds, resources and personnel were directed to the COVID-19 response, while the stringent lockdown measures resulted in the closure or reduced timings of the Primary Health Care (PHC) clinics, while transportation difficulties proved to be another challenge for many from accessing these life-saving vaccines.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Acted as Bottlenecks in Routine Immunization Coverage

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