COVID-19 pandemic led to a 'child health crisis', millions went without basic immunisation: Unicef

As the pandemic's aftereffects continue to affect health care internationally, recently released data by Unicef and the World Health Organization, points to the detrimental effect the pandemic had on children. Last year over 25 million youngsters missed out on routine immunizations that protect against life-threatening infections, reports Reuters. This is two million more children than in 2020 when COVID-19 prompted lockdowns all across the world, and six million more than in 2019 prior to the epidemic.Unicef characterised the drop in vaccination rates, which lowered coverage rates to levels last seen in the early 2000s, as the largest persistent backslide in childhood vaccination in a generation.

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Talking to Reuters, Niklas Danielsson Unicef's senior immunisation specialist, pointed at the "urgency" of what he referred to as a "child health crisis."

The organisation claimed that a focus on COVID-19 immunisation programmes in 2021, as well as the slowing economy and burden on healthcare facilities, had slowed the recovery of routine immunisations.

In recent months, there have already been indications of increased vaccination-preventable illness rates, including a 400 per cent increase in measles cases in Africa by 2022.

According to the data collected from national health systems in 177 countries, the number of "zero-dose" children or those childrenwho have not received any vaccinations rose by 37 per cent between 2019 and 2021, from 13 to 18 million kids, especially in low- and middle-income nations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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