Kosmos: UNICEF stated backsliding of routine immunization because of COVID-19 pandemic meant that in 2020, over 23 million children missed out on essential vaccines. This was an increase of nearly 4 million from 2019, with decades of progress “tragically eroded, ” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore told the World Health Summit here.
Of these 23 million children, 17 million did not receive any vaccines at all. These were the so-called zero-dose children, most of whom live in communities with multiple deprivations. Paradoxically, the pandemic underscored that vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions.
“I greatly fear that the pandemic’s impact on children’s health is only starting to be seen,” warned Fore. She pointed out that the past 22 months had shown that “even as we battle immediate threats such as a pandemic, we must also ensure continuous access to essential health services”. “If we do not, there will be an indirect increase in morbidity and mortality,” she stated.
According to her, as COVID-19 took hold of the world, healthcare workers serving pregnant mothers, babies and children faced unthinkable choices. As COVID patients gasped for breath, desperate for oxygen, mothers and babies needed it too. As wards filled up with virus victims, staff were not free to help the very young. As health budgets were stretched to the breaking point, routine healthcare began to go by the wayside.
“These are some of the reasons why more than twice as many women and children have lost their lives for every COVID-19 death in many low and middle-income countries. Estimates from the Lancet suggest up to nearly 114,000 additional women and children died during this period,” she said.
– global bihari bureau
