Child vaccine coverage faltering, threatening millions: study
By Daniel Lawler
Efforts to vaccinate children against deadly diseases are faltering across the world due to economic inequality, Covid-era disruptions and misinformation, putting millions of lives at risk, research warned Wednesday.
These trends all increase the threat of future outbreaks of preventable diseases, the researchers said, while sweeping foreign aid cuts threaten previous progress in vaccinating the world's children.
A new study published in The Lancet journal looked at childhood vaccination rates across 204 countries and territories.
It was not all bad news.
An immunization program by the World Health Organization was estimated to have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the last 50 years.
And vaccination coverage against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio and tuberculosis doubled between 1980 and 2023, the international team of researchers found.
However, the gains slowed in the 2010s, when measles vaccinations decreased in around half of the countries, with the largest drop in Latin America.
Meanwhile in more than half of all high-income countries there were declines in coverage for at least one vaccine dose.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Routine vaccination services were hugely disrupted during lockdowns and other measures, resulting in nearly 13 million extra children who never received any vaccine dose between 2020 to 2023, the study said.
This disparity endured, particularly in poorer countries. In 2023, more than half of the world's 15.7 million completely unvaccinated children lived in just eight countries, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study.
In the European Union, 10 times more measles cases were recorded last year compared to 2023.
In the United States, a measles outbreak surged past 1,000 cases across 30 states last month, which is already more than were recorded in all of 2024.
Cases of polio, long eradicated in many areas thanks to vaccination, have been rising in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while Papua New Guinea is currently enduring a polio outbreak.
'Tragedy'
"Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most powerful and cost-effective public health interventions available," said senior study author Jonathan Mosser of the U.S.-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
"But persistent global inequalities, challenges from the Covid pandemic, and the growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have all contributed to faltering immunization progress," he said in a statement.
In addition, there are "rising numbers of displaced people and growing disparities due to armed conflict, political volatility, economic uncertainty, climate crises," added lead study author Emily Haeuser, also from the IHME.
The researchers warned the setbacks could threaten the WHO's goal of having 90 percent of the world's children and adolescents receive essential vaccines by 2030.
The WHO also aims to halve the number of children who have received no vaccine doses by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.
Just 18 countries have achieved this so far, according to the study, which was funded by the Gates Foundation and the Gavi vaccine alliance.
The global health community has also been reeling since President Donald Trump's administration drastically slashed US international aid earlier this year.
"For the first time in decades, the number of kids dying around the world will likely go up this year instead of down because of massive cuts to foreign aid," Bill Gates said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
"That is a tragedy," the Microsoft co-founder said, committing $1.6 billion to Gavi, which is holding a fund-raising summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Beware of Heatstroke in Pets; Different Physiology Makes Animals More Susceptible to High Temperatures
With the recent heatwave, concern about heatstroke in pets has been on the rise. The number of heatstroke diagnoses is increasing, with most cases occurring in July and August. There have been many cases of pets burning their paws on hot asphalt, and experts warn that even the slightest carelessness can be fatal. In Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, this year's average July temperature reached 24.6 C as of July 27, the highest since records began in 1883. One female office worker, 24, is taking great care to prevent her two dogs from suffering from heatstroke. 'I'm trying not to let them out during the day because they could get burned on the pavement,' she said. This summer, she has been walking her dogs after 5 p.m., and on extremely hot days, she sometimes waits until around 9 p.m. During walks, she takes measures against the heat such as carrying frozen water bottles and dressing her dogs in cooling vests. According to a survey by Anicom Insurance, Inc., a major pet insurance company, it covered a total of 1,624 cases of heatstroke nationwide in 2024, including 1,453 dogs and 171 cats. The number of dogs treated was 37.7% greater than in 2020, while the number of cats treated was 17.9% greater than in 2022, when the survey began. Cases peaked in July, with 541, but remained high in August, with 385. A company official said of the data, 'This may be due not only to the recent rise in temperatures but also to the increase in pet ownership since the COVID-19 pandemic.' Pets have higher body temperatures than humans and are closer to the ground, making them more susceptible to heat. Additionally, dogs only have sweat glands in their paw pads and cannot cool themselves by sweating over their entire bodies like humans do. Amid the ongoing pet boom, the Environment Ministry created a poster in June titled 'Let's Prevent Heatstroke in Pets!' clearly stating unacceptable behaviors such as tying pets up outdoors in direct sunlight, leaving them in hot indoor spaces and leaving them in cars. Asphalt, which absorbs heat easily, can reach temperatures above 60 C. Keiichiro Sato, a specialist at the Ministry's Animal Welfare and Management Office, said, 'Before taking your pet for a walk, touch the ground with your hand. If it's hot, refrain from walking them.' Early symptoms of heatstroke in dogs and cats include rapid breathing, red eyes and lethargy. Placing a damp towel over their neck and shoulders or cooling them by submerging their body in a bathtub filled with water for about five minutes can be effective first aid measures. Hideharu Kubota, director of the animal hospital in Miyako, said, 'I hope people will make an effort to think from the perspective of their pets.'
29-07-2025
Japan Social Security Benefits Down for 2nd Straight Yr
News from Japan Society Jul 29, 2025 17:50 (JST) Tokyo, July 29 (Jiji Press)--Social security benefits in Japan in fiscal 2023 fell for the second straight year, a welfare ministry think tank said Tuesday. Benefits were down by 2,680.9 billion yen, or 1.9 pct, from the previous year to 135,492.8 billion yen, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. The drop reflected a steep reduction of COVID-19-related benefits and subsidies after the government lowered the classification of COVID-19 under the infectious disease law to Category V, the same as for seasonal influenza, in May 2023. Despite the decline, benefits stood at the third-highest level on record due to the aging of the country's population. Pensions accounted for the largest portion of the total benefits, rising 1.1 pct to 56,393.6 billion yen. Medical benefits fell 6.5 pct to 45,579.9 billion yen, as COVID-19-related expenditures decreased despite a rise in public health insurance benefits. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
29-07-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Israel's Leader Claims No One in Gaza Is Starving. Data and Witnesses Disagree
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no one in Gaza is starving: 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza – otherwise, there would be no Gazans.' President Donald Trump on Monday said he disagrees with Netanyahu's claim of no starvation in Gaza, noting the images emerging of emaciated people: 'Those children look very hungry.' After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The U.N. has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last. 'This aid, delivered in this way, is an insult to the Palestinian people,' said Hasan Al-Zalaan, who was at the site of an airdrop as some fought over the supplies and crushed cans of chickpeas littered the ground. Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn't reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its militants of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The U.N. denies that looting of aid is systematic and that it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. Here's what we know: Deaths are increasing The World Health Organization said Sunday there have been 63 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this month, including 24 children under the age of 5 — up from 11 deaths total the previous six months of the year. Gaza's Health Ministry puts the number even higher, reporting 82 deaths this month of malnutrition-related causes: 24 children and 58 adults. It said Monday that 14 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas government, is headed by medical professionals and is seen by the U.N. as the most reliable source of data on casualties. U.N. agencies also often confirm numbers through other partners on the ground. The Patient's Friends Hospital, the main emergency center for malnourished kids in northern Gaza, says this month it saw for the first time malnutrition deaths in children who had no preexisting conditions. Some adults who died suffered from such illnesses as diabetes or had heart or kidney ailments made worse by starvation, according to Gaza medical officials. The WHO also says acute malnutrition in northern Gaza tripled this month, reaching nearly one in five children under 5 years old, and has doubled in central and southern Gaza. The U.N. says Gaza's only four specialized treatment centers for malnutrition are 'overwhelmed.' The leading international authority on food crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, has warned of famine for months in Gaza but has not formally declared one, citing the lack of data as Israel restricts access to the territory. Aid trucks are swarmed by hungry people The measures announced by Israel late Saturday include 10-hour daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in three heavily populated areas, so that U.N. trucks can more more easily distribute food. Still, U.N. World Food Program spokesperson Martin Penner said the agency's 55 trucks of aid that entered Gaza on Monday via the crossings of Zikim and Kerem Shalom were looted by starving people before they reached WFP warehouses. Experts say that airdrops, another measure Israel announced, are insufficient for the immense need in Gaza and dangerous to people on the ground. Israel's military says 48 food packages were dropped Sunday and Monday. Palestinians say they want a full return to the U.N.-led aid distribution system that was in place throughout the war, rather than the Israeli-backed mechanism that began in May. Witnesses and health workers say Israeli forces have killed hundreds by opening fire on Palestinians trying to reach those food distribution hubs or while crowding around entering aid trucks. Israel's military says it has fired warning shots to disperse threats. The U.N. and partners say that the best way to bring food into Gaza is by truck, and they have called repeatedly for Israel to loosen restrictions on their entry. A truck carries roughly 19 tons of supplies. Israel's military says that as of July 21, 95,435 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the war began. That's an average of 146 trucks per day, and far below the 500 to 600 trucks per day that the U.N. says are needed. The rate has sometimes been as low as half of that for several months at a time. Nothing went in for 2 1/2 months starting in March because Israel imposed a complete blockade on food, fuel and other supplies entering Gaza. Delivering aid is difficult and slow The U.N. says that delivering the aid that is allowed into Gaza has become increasingly difficult. When aid enters, it is left just inside the border in Gaza, and the U.N. must get Israeli military permission to send trucks to pick it up. But the U.N. says the military has denied or impeded just over half the movement requests for its trucks in the past three months. If the U.N. succeeds in picking up the aid, hungry crowds and armed gangs swarm the convoys and strip them of supplies. The Hamas-run civilian police once provided security along some routes, but that stopped after Israel targeted them with airstrikes.
