Global childhood immunizations increased in 2022 but still had not recovered from the backsliding that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data published on Tuesday by the World Health Organization and UNICEF show that 14.3 million children in 2022 did not receive any dose of the vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, or DTP, which is used as a metric for global immunization coverage. Although this is approximately 4 million unvaccinated children fewer than in 2021, it is still nearly 1.5 million more than in 2019.
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The number of under-vaccinated children, meaning those who have not received all three doses of the DTP vaccine, is still more than 2 million higher than 2019 levels as well.
"These data are encouraging," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said, "[but] global and regional averages don’t tell the whole story and mask severe and persistent inequities. When countries and regions lag, children pay the price."
The percentage of children receiving all three doses of DTP is currently estimated at 84%,10% lower than the WHO's recommendation for full coverage across the global population.
Measles vaccination rates have also improved, but not to pre-pandemic levels, rising 2% to 83% first-dose coverage in 2022. That is still 3% below 2019 levels.
South Asian countries, especially India with its high infant population, have progressed more rapidly than countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America in getting their vaccine dissemination infrastructure back on track after diverting already strained public health resources to COVID-19 prevention efforts.
Global lagging in vaccinations for preventable infections can result in outbreaks of diseases that were thought to have been eradicated, such as the polio outbreak in the United Kingdom last year.
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"Viruses like measles don't recognize borders, said Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director. "Efforts must urgently be strengthened to catch up children who missed their vaccination, while restoring and further improving immunization services from pre-pandemic levels."
The WHO, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, and other advocacy organizations, is calling on governments worldwide to increase financing for immunization infrastructure, including investments in education for healthcare workers and improving primary health services.