According to new figures from the WHO and the UN children's fund Unicef, these interruptions threaten to undermine difficult progress in reaching more children and young people with vaccines of various kinds. This has already been hampered by decades of lateness.
Preliminary data for the first four months of 2020 show a significant reduction in the number of children completing three doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3).
The suffering and deaths due to children losing routine immunization may be greater than covid-19 itself. But it does not have to be that way. Vaccines can also be administered during pandemics, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization.
This is the first time in 28 years that the world can see a reduction in DTP3 coverage, according to the WHO and Unicef.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, at least 30 measles vaccination programs have been discontinued or are at risk of being discontinued globally. It could lead to further outbreaks of measles in 2020 and beyond, warns WHO and Unicef. The reasons for interrupting vaccination programs can be different.
Even if people are offered vaccines, they cannot access them due to reluctance to leave their homes. It can also be due to disruptions in transport, financial difficulties, government restrictions on free movement or people's fear of becoming infected by people with covid-19.
In addition, health care professionals are not available to the extent needed. This may be due to various limitations or lack of protective equipment.
"Vaccine is one of the most powerful tools in the history of public health work, and more children than ever are now being immunized," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
However, progress in vaccination rates due to vaccination programs had stalled before covid-19 struck.
The probability that a child born today will be fully vaccinated with all globally recommended vaccines when she turns 5 years old is less than 20 percent, states WHO.