WHO: Child Vaccination Rates Lag in 2023

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Facts

  • Data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF purports that an additional 2.7M children were under or un-vaccinated in 2023 compared to 2019, based on their analysis of immunization trends for 14 diseases.1
  • The number of children who haven't received a single dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine — a benchmark figure for child immunization — went from 12.8M pre-pandemic to 14.5M in 2023, while 6.5M did not receive their final, third dose of the shot.2
  • Global conflicts were a key factor in the declining rates, with the number of children receiving no doses of the vaccine in Sudan increasing to around 701K in 2023 compared to 110K in 2021. The goal to halve the number of 'zero-dose' children worldwide by 2030 is now off-track, the WHO says.3
  • Dr. Katherine O’Brien, a director at the WHO, said that the pandemic ushered in a 'historic backslide.' Besides DTP vaccinations, the report warned that 35M children had partial or no protection against measles, as low vaccination rates were cited as being behind 103 outbreaks in the past five years.4
  • 59% of 'zero-dose' children were living in Nigeria, India, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Angola, and Pakistan. North America, South America, and Africa did broadly see an improvement in their vaccine coverage rates.5
  • Ukraine, however, was one conflict zone where child immunization increased in 2023. In April 2023, The Big-Catch Up initiative — which hopes to reverse declining vaccination rates — was undertaken by organizations that include the WHO and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.4

Sources: 1WHO, 2Dw.Com, 3Guardian, 4CNN and 5Euronews.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. In many countries with the privileges of wealth, stability, and good healthcare systems, vaccine misinformation has led to a drop in child immunization rates and the reemergence of diseases such as measles. The West must lead by example and clamp down on dangerous distortions of vaccine efficacy and safety and step-up on the world stage to encourage universal immunization.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Aei. The data coming from the WHO is troubling but must not become fodder for the censorship crowd that hopelessly politicized the COVID pandemic. Tragic conflicts around the globe, not social media posts, are responsible for the recent dip, and health authorities must focus on clear, consistent messaging over brow-beating in order to restore the trust of the public.

Predictions