Millions of children across the world are being put at risk of diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio, due to the disruptive effects Covid-19 is having on immunisation services.
Vaccination
The warning comes from the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit set to take place on 4 June.
Data collected by these institutions and the Sabin Vaccine Institute show that at least 68 countries have had routine immunisation services substantially hindered due to Covid-19. The disruption is likely to affect an estimated 80 million children under the age of one living in lower-income countries.
Available data from 129 countries show that over half (53%) have reported moderate-to-severe disruptions, which can include a total suspension of vaccination services throughout March and April this year.
“Immunisation is one of the most powerful and fundamental disease prevention tools in the history of public health,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general. “Disruption to immunisation programmes from the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to unwind decades of progress against vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.”
“At the 4 June Global Vaccine Summit in London, donors will pledge their support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to sustain and accelerate this lifesaving work in some of the most vulnerable countries. From the bottom of my heart, I urge donors to fully fund the Alliance. These countries, these children especially, need vaccines, and they need Gavi.”
Restrictions on travel, a lack of personal protective equipment and the redistribution of healthcare staff to Covid-19 responses, are some of the reasons why immunisation campaigns have been disrupted.
In particular, the WHO report that measles and polio vaccination campaigns have been badly hit: with 27 countries having to suspend measles campaigns and 38 countries suspending polio campaigns.
In Gavi-supported lower income countries, it’s estimated that at least 24 million people are now at risk of missing out on vaccines against polio, measles, typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, rotavirus, HPV, meningitis A and rubella due to postponed campaigns and introductions of new vaccines.
The WHO has now issued advice to countries on how best to resume mass vaccination campaigns. The guidance states that countries will need to make specific risk assessments based on their particular situation regarding Covid-19.
“More children in more countries are now protected against more vaccine-preventable diseases than at any point in history,” said Dr Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO. “Due to Covid-19 this immense progress is now under threat, risking the resurgence of diseases like measles and polio. Not only will maintaining immunisation programmes prevent more outbreaks, it will also ensure we have the infrastructure we need to roll out an eventual Covid-19 vaccine on a global scale.”
The supply of vaccines has been another area which have exacerbated the situation for immunisation, as reported by UNICEF. Vaccine delivery programmes have been hindered due to a decline in commercial flights and limited availability of charters. UNICEF is now appealing to governments, the private sector and the airline industry to free up freight space for vaccines.
“We cannot let our fight against one disease come at the expense of long-term progress in our fight against other diseases,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF executive director. “We have effective vaccines against measles, polio and cholera. While circumstances may require us to temporarily pause some immunisation efforts, these immunisations must restart as soon as possible, or we risk exchanging one deadly outbreak for another.”