Global pediatric immunization rates stall, threatening public health

On July 15, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF issued a joint news release revealing that global childhood immunization rates stalled in 2023, leaving many children and adolescents unprotected against preventable diseases.

According to the report, pediatric immunization rates stalled in 2023. A comparison to pre-pandemic immunization levels from 2019 revealed that 2.7 million additional children are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.

“The latest trends demonstrate that many countries continue to miss far too many children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in the press release. “Closing the immunization gap requires a global effort, with governments, partners, and local leaders investing in primary healthcare and community workers to ensure every child gets vaccinated and that overall healthcare is strengthened.”

The news release emphasized that low vaccine coverage has contributed to measles outbreaks, which threaten pediatric health. In 2023, only 84% of children were covered for the first dose of the measles vaccine, while coverage for the second dose was only 74%. Although coverage for the second dose increased from previous years, it is still well under the 95% coverage target necessary for preventing outbreaks.

“Measles outbreaks are the canary in the coal mine, exposing and exploiting gaps in immunization and hitting the most vulnerable first,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, WHO Director-General. “This is a solvable problem. Measles vaccine is cheap and can be delivered even in the most difficult places. WHO is committed to working with all our partners to support countries to close these gaps and protect the most at-risk children as quickly as possible.”

On a more positive note, the report also revealed that HPV vaccine coverage has increased among girls, with 27% of girls receiving at least one dose of HPV vaccine in 2023, a significant rise from 20% in 2022.

"The HPV vaccine is one of the most impactful vaccines in Gavi’s portfolio, and it is incredibly heartening that it is now reaching more girls than ever before,” said Sania Nishtar, PhD CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “With vaccines now available to over 50% of eligible girls in African countries, we have much work to be done, but today we can see we have a clear pathway to eliminating this terrible disease.”  

Overall, this data indicates a need for more public health efforts that promote pediatric vaccinations to prevent disease outbreaks and protect global populations.