During the pandemic, 67 million children have missed vital vaccinations against the deadliest childhood diseases – meaning decades of progress have been erased. Now UNICEF is sounding the alarm. The number of unvaccinated children is increasing sharply, according to a global report from UNICEF. – We have so many children who have missed their routine vaccination. We have three-, four- and five-year-olds who have not received a single injection and who are now at risk of becoming blind from measles or paralyzed from polio, says Pernilla Baralt, Secretary General of UNICEF Sweden. UNICEF sees declines in routine vaccinations for children in all regions of the world. Hardest hit by the sharp increase in childhood diseases are countries in East Asia such as Pakistan and India and in Africa south of the Sahara. These are countries where both polio and measles were nearly eradicated. From 2019 to 2021, vaccination coverage fell from 86 percent to 81 percent, the lowest vaccination coverage since 2008. A strong contributor is the pandemic and the shutdowns it brought. Mothers could not take their children to the vaccination centers, the nurses could not go to work and there were not enough financial resources. – It was not easy to keep all activities going at the same time and the children were not a priority, says Pernilla Baralt. “Really life-threatening” The skepticism towards vaccines that spread during the pandemic may also have had an impact on vaccination coverage, according to Pernilla Baralt. – There have been many polarizing debates and fake news that have created uncertainty among mothers and fathers. This is really life-threatening, she says. For one year, UNICEF will have a global campaign to catch up, starting on April 20. The goal is to vaccinate all newborns but also catch the three-, four- and five-year-olds who have not been vaccinated. – This year will be decisive – the political will, the investments and that we all contribute to increasing knowledge about this vital effort. It is time to prioritize the children, says Pernilla Baralt.
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