The percentage of children vaccinated worldwide has decreased. Millions of them have not been vaccinated at all or to a lesser extent than before the pandemic, AFP reported.
The UN has warned of dangerous gaps in vaccination coverage around the world that could lead to outbreaks of diseases such as measles.
In 2023, 84% of children, or 108 million, received three doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine. The third dose serves as a key indicator of global immunization coverage, according to data released by the UN's health and children's agencies. The percentage is the same as a year earlier, meaning the modest progress seen in 2022 after a sharp decline during the Covid-19 crisis has "halted". In 2019, before the pandemic, the rate was 86%.
"Recent trends show that many countries continue to fail to vaccinate too many children," explained UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. | BGNES
