Avoiding COVID-19 May Spread Measles and Polio [Reading Science]

WHO "Global Child Essential Infectious Disease Vaccination Rate Lowest in 30 Years" Concern

▲Measles rash. [Photo by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as countries worldwide have neglected routine major infectious disease vaccinations for children, concerns have been raised that deadly diseases such as measles and polio are at risk of becoming widespread epidemics.

According to the international academic journal Nature on the 26th (local time), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently published a report stating that major infectious disease vaccinations for children have decreased at the largest rate in 30 years since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vaccination rate for the 'DTP3' vaccine (three doses), which is essential for infants aged 2 to 6 months to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, dropped sharply from 86% in 2019 to 81%, a 5 percentage point decline. DTP3 vaccination is considered essential for infants. If this vaccination was not administered on time, it is highly likely that other deadly infectious disease vaccines were also missed.

The report confirmed that about 25 million children missed basic infectious disease vaccinations such as measles last year. This is 5 million more than the 20 million in 2019. Globally, from 2011 to 2019, the vaccination rate for major infectious diseases in children remained around 85%. However, after the pandemic spread in 2020 and 2021, vaccination rates plummeted mainly in countries with middle to low income levels. In 2021 alone, 18 million children in India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and the Philippines did not receive any DTP vaccinations.

High-income countries also showed a slight decline, from 95% in 2019 to 94% in 2021.

As a result, these infectious diseases are resurging immediately. From January to April this year, about 50,000 measles cases occurred worldwide, more than double the number during the same period in 2021. In February and May, wild poliovirus infections were reported in Malawi and Mozambique in Africa for the first time in nearly 30 years. Additionally, WHO confirmed that vaccinations against human papillomavirus, which is particularly deadly for women, have also sharply declined. WHO stated, "The decline in childhood vaccinations is partly due to supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, resource diversion, or lockdowns, and economic difficulties, wars, and natural disasters have also affected some countries' ability to conduct basic infectious disease vaccinations."

Giridhar Babu, a prevention expert at the Indian Public Health Foundation, pointed out, "As the pandemic eases, national resource allocation may focus on areas other than health. For the next few months, countries with low vaccination rates must make concentrated efforts to increase vaccination coverage."