Recovering from the Unprecedented Backsliding in Immunization Coverage
An article entitled, "Recovering from the Unprecedented Backsliding in Immunization Coverage: Learnings from Country Programming in Five Countries through the Past Two Years of COVID-19 Pandemic Disruptions" was published in Vaccines journal this year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there were severe disruptions to health systems and health services, including vaccination, which has a resulted in a historic backsliding in routine immunization worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2021, 25 million children did not receive a dose of any vaccine, an increase of 6 million from 2019, and the highest number seen in over 20 years. This article highlights strategies used by 5 countries - Cambodia, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda - who have excelled in strengthening routine immunization services and restoring coverage lost during the pandemic. Above all, these findings show that integrating routine immunization into primary healthcare services is of the upmost importance.
This article is useful for those who are working to restore and strengthen routine immunization in their countries, catch up children who have missed vaccination, and generally build resilience in their immunization systems to respond more rapidly and effectively, especially in light of new challenges and barriers.
What has been the most challenging barrier to restoring routine immunization in your region? What lessons have you learned while attempting to restore routine immunization in your community? What do you view as the most important step that needs to be taken in order to restore routine immunization in your community?
Share your thoughts in the "Comment" section below!