Progresses and challenges with sustaining and advancing immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic
The key goal of the Immunization Agenda 2030 is to make vaccination achievable for everyone, everywhere, at every age, by 2030. The Covid-19 pandemic and associated disruptions have strained health systems in 2020, resulting in 22.7 million children missing out on vaccination, 3.7 million more than in 2019 and the highest number since 2009. Moreover, the number of children receiving no vaccines through the routine immunization programme - “zero-dose children” – increased from 13.6 to 17.1m. In this analysis, zero-dose children are those who received no doses of DTP. Under-vaccinated (drop-out) are those who received at least one dose, but not a third dose of DTP.
