Global childhood vaccination rates have flatlined for over a decade, risking the return of deadly diseases like measles and polio.
United States: The advancements made in the past several decades in vaccinating children against numerous life-threatening illnesses have come to a dead end in the last 20 years -and the number against it has rained even in countries in certain countries, a new international study has indicated.
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The Covid pandemic has only added to these factors, and millions of children have no protection against diseases like measles, tuberculosis, and polio.
These researchers demand that there should be an effort made to offer more and equal access to vaccines, BBC News reported.
Child health experts apprehend that the international aid budgets that finance the vaccination programs are being cut and that this is combined with vaccine skepticism, thus causing a perfect storm.
Efforts to vaccinate children globally have stalled since 2010, leaving millions vulnerable to tetanus, polio, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases, according to a new analysis of global vaccination trends published in the journal Lancet. https://t.co/k0c2Llv71l
— ABC News (@ABC) June 25, 2025
Childhood vaccination programs in the entire world have been an immense success.
Over four billion children have been vaccinated since 1974, and this prevented about 150 million anticipated deaths globally.
Researchers claim that the vaccine coverage doubled in almost 50 years until 2023.
However, there has been no progress since 2010, such that varying rates in the coverage of the vaccine are being experienced nowadays across the globe.
Research conducted by the medical journal The Lancet states that measles inoculations have been recommended in almost 100 nations.
Things were apparently further worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the disruption of vaccine programs due to lockdowns.
In 2023, the number of children who have never received a childhood vaccine reached almost 16 million people (the majority in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia), as BBC News reported.
According to the author of the study, Dr. Jonathan Mosser, and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, who works at the University of Washington in the United States, large proportions of children remain under-vaccinated and un-vaccinated.
“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 immunization progress,” he stated.
Dr Mosser quoted that it is now more likely that diseases such as measles, polio, and diphtheria can have outbreaks.