Latest news with #GlobalBurdenofDiseaseStudyVaccineCoverageCollaborators
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Hindu
India's alarming vaccination gap: 1.44 million children still 'zero-dose,' Lancet study reveals
India is at the forefront of a critical global challenge in childhood vaccinations, with a staggering 1.44 million children classified as 'zero-dose' in 2023, according to a new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study Vaccine Coverage Collaborators, published in The Lancet, on June 25, 2025. The study also highlights a troubling stagnation in worldwide immunisation efforts, leaving millions of vulnerable children, particularly in India and other South Asian nations, susceptible to deadly, preventable diseases. Despite significant progress in expanding vaccine coverage between 1980 and 2023, the momentum has significantly faltered since 2010, the study found. By 2023, an estimated 15.7 million children globally had received no doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine in their first year of life – with India being a significant contributor to this cohort. Measles vaccination coverage declined in 100 of 204 countries between 2010 and 2019, while 21 of 36 high-income countries experienced declines in coverage for at least one vaccine dose against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio, or tuberculosis. More than half of these 15.7 million unvaccinated children reside in just eight countries, with India's 1.44 million zero-dose children placing it as the second-highest globally, behind Nigeria. South Asia as a region account for a substantial 13% of these vulnerable children, emphasising the concentrated nature of this crisis within the subcontinent. Pandemic fall-out The COVID-19 pandemic severely exacerbated existing challenges, leading to sharp declines in global vaccine coverage rates from 2020 onwards. The study estimates that between 2020 and 2023, approximately 15.6 million children worldwide missed their full three doses of the DTP vaccine or a measles vaccine. 'Despite the monumental efforts of the past 50 years, progress has been far from universal. Large numbers of children remain under- and un-vaccinated', said senior study author Jonathan Mosser from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, United States. 'Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most powerful and cost-effective public health interventions available, but persistent global inequalities, challenges from the COVID pandemic, and the growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have all contributed to faltering immunisation progress. These trends increase the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, polio, and diphtheria, underscoring the critical need for targeted improvements to ensure that all children can benefit from lifesaving immunisations,' Dr. Mosser added. 2030 goals may remain unmet The authors of the study said that these latest estimates should be taken as a clear warning that global immunisation targets for 2030 will not be met without 'transformational improvements in equity'. The authors strongly advocate for concerted efforts to combat vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, emphasising that 'Vaccination services must prioritise trust-building, engage community leaders, and tailor interventions with more culturally appropriate local strategies to improve vaccine confidence and uptake.' Professor Hai Fang, China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, China (not involved with the study) said, 'In light of the potential decline in international aid from high-income countries, there is an even greater need to strengthen routine childhood vaccination coverage at all levels. Sustained investment and targeted strategies will be essential to maintain progress, close immunisation gaps, and ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines.' What does this mean for India For India, this means intensified efforts are required to reverse the trend. The findings serve as a critical alarm bell for public health authorities, highlighting the urgent need for robust, equitable immunisation strategies to safeguard the country's vast child population against preventable diseases. Experts said that for a country as diverse as India, this calls for highly localised and culturally sensitive vaccination programmes. A significant two-thirds (65%) of the zero-dose children who need to be reached by vaccination between 2023 and 2030 are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with the latter accounting for 1.33 million. 'The challenge now is how to improve vaccine delivery and uptake in areas of low coverage. The diversity of challenges and barriers to immunisation vary widely between countries and within communities, with rising numbers of displaced people and growing disparities due to armed conflict, political volatility, economic uncertainty, climate crises, and vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, underscoring the need for new, tailored solutions,' said lead author of the study, Emily Haeuser. The world has made unprecedented progress in vaccinating children against life-threatening disease since World Health Organisation (WHO) established the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974. Over the past 50 years, EPI has vaccinated more than 4 billion children, preventing the deaths of an estimated 154 million children worldwide and providing a total of 10.2 billion years of full health. However, vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks persist, reflecting long standing inequalities in vaccine coverage worldwide, and pose a growing global risk.
Otago Daily Times
16 hours ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
NZ vaccination rate low among high income countries
Between 2010 and 2019, progress in increasing vaccinations stalled and even reversed in some countries, including in 21 of 36 high-income countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and US. Australia had the sixth highest number of unvaccinated children in 2023 among high-income countries. New Zealand and Australia had the sixth and seventh lowest percentage of vaccine coverage, respectively in 2023 among high-income countries. By 2030, only the high-income super region is projected to reach the World Health Organization's 2030 immunisation targets, unless drastic changes are made in the next five years. Childhood vaccination rates have dropped in 21 out of 36 high-income countries, with New Zealand ranking among the lowest in terms of coverage, new research has found. According to the major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study Vaccine Coverage Collaborators, published in The Lancet on Wednesday New Zealand had the sixth lowest rate of coverage in 2023, just behind Australia. Only Canada, San Marino, Ireland, Austria and Argentina had worse childhood vaccination coverage. Since the World Health Organisation established the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974, more than 4 billion children had been vaccinated, preventing the deaths of an estimated 154 million children. Initially focusing on six childhood vaccine-preventable diseases (tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and measles), the programme later expanded to include protection against Haemophilus influenzae type B, Hepatitis B, rubella, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, and human papillomavirus. However, the last two decades have also been marked by stagnating childhood vaccination rates and "wide variation" in coverage - a trend further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the report noted. "Between 2010 and 2019, coverage gains slowed and, in some areas of the world, reversed. "For example, 21 of 36 high-income countries experienced declines in coverage for at least one of the original EPI-recommended vaccine-doses (excluding the tuberculosis vaccine, which is no longer included in routine immunisation schedules in some countries) - including a 12% decline in first dose measles vaccination in Argentina, and 8% and 6% declines in third dose diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination in Finland and Austria, respectively. "Additionally, the proportion of children receiving the measles vaccine declined in 100 of 204 countries, with the largest decrease observed in Latin America and the Caribbean, where coverage fell from around 90% in 2010 to 87% in 2019, resulting in almost one million fewer children being vaccinated against measles in 2019." Children left vulnerable Lead author Dr Jonathan Mosser from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington said this left millions of "under and un-vaccinated" children vulnerable to preventable disease and death. "Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most powerful and cost-effective public health interventions available, but persistent global inequalities, challenges from the COpandemic, and the growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have all contributed to faltering immunisation progress," he said. "These trends increase the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, polio, and diphtheria, underscoring the critical need for targeted improvements to ensure that all children can benefit from lifesaving immunisations." In 2023, more than half of the world's 15.7m unvaccinated children were living in just eight countries, with 53% in sub-Saharan Africa. Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks persisted, including polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea, where less than half the population is immunised. In 2024, there was a nearly tenfold increase in measles infections recorded in the European Union and the European Economic Area, while the ongoing measles outbreak in the United States reached over 1000 confirmed cases across 30 states by May 2025. The authors stressed that global immunisation goals for 2030 would not be met without targeted strategies and "efforts to tackle vaccine misinformation and hesitancy".
