NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday lauded India for scaling up routine immunization coverage and said accelerated efforts must continue.
Reacting to the praise, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, "Intensify Routine Immunization! India recorded 93% DPT3 coverage in 2022, surpassing the pre-pandemic all-time high of 91% in 2019, & a rapid increase from 85% recorded in 2021."
"We are leaving no one behind," he tweeted.
The WHO South-East Asia Region complimented member countries, including India, for scaling up childhood immunization coverage to pre-pandemic levels and called for continued intensified efforts with a focus on reaching the 2.3 million un-vaccinated and 6,50,000 partially vaccinated children.
The Region had the best immunization recoveries among all other Regions, which can be majorly attributed to efforts being made by India and Indonesia, said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia.
"Every child deserves to be protected against life-threatening diseases with routine immunization vaccines. The momentum built with impressive efforts and immunization service recoveries must continue to benefit every child for a healthy and productive life," she said.
The WHO and UNICEF on Tuesday came out with a new report. The report on the national immunization coverage for 2022 shows that in the WHO South-East Asia Region, the coverage rate for DPT3, third dose of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccines which is used globally to assess vaccination rates, recovered to pre-pandemic 91%, a sharp increase from 82% recorded in 2021.
The Region has also shown a six per cent improvement in coverage of the measles-containing vaccine in 2022 compared to 2021, moving from 86% to 92%.
The number of zero-dose children i.e. those that have not received even the first dose of the DPT vaccine halved from 4.6 million in 2021 to 2.3 million in 2022.
Similarly, the number of partially vaccinated children, those that had received at least one dose of the DPT vaccine but did not complete the primary series of three doses, reduced from 1.3 million in 2021 to 650 000 in 2022 - a 50% decline.
India recorded 93% DPT3 coverage in 2022, surpassing the pre-pandemic all-time high of 91% in 2019, and a rapid increase from 85% recorded in 2021, she said.
Indonesia's DPT3 coverage recovered to 85%, the same as in 2019, but the country recorded one of the sharpest recoveries from 67% in 2021.
The other countries that also improved their routine immunisation coverage include Bhutan with 98% and Maldives with 99% DPT3 coverage, surpassing their pre-pandemic immunization rates.
Bangladesh with 98% and Thailand with 97% have demonstrated consistency in routine immunization coverage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, she said.
"While we draw lessons from the pandemic to strengthen our capacities to respond to future health emergencies, we must learn from countries that maintained their immunization rates even while responding to a pandemic," she said.
Sri Lanka with 98% coverage, Nepal with 90% and Timor-Leste with 86% are closer to pre-pandemic coverage of 99%, 93% and 90% respectively. Myanmar with 71% DPT3 coverage in 2022, is far from pre-pandemic 90% coverage in 2019.
The joint report said that global immunization services reached 4 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, as countries stepped up efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Much has been achieved, much needs to be done. While overall immunization coverage levels are looking good, and the progress is encouraging, there remain variabilities in the coverage at sub-national levels in countries, especially in those with large populations. The inequities in immunization coverage leading to the accumulation of pockets of unvaccinated children pose the risk of outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. These gaps must be closed," Dr Singh said.
"The countries and partner agencies must continue to scale up efforts to identify the unvaccinated children, strengthen the capacities of the health workforce, better understand and engage with vulnerable populations and roll out tailored strategies to reach every child with the lifesaving routine immunization vaccines," she added.
The WHO in 2021 had urged member countries to scale up routine immunization along with Covid-19 vaccination. The DTP3 coverage in the Region had dipped to 85% in 2020.
The number of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children increased to 4.9 million as against 3 million in 2019. Surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases was also affected.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell however said that beneath the "positive trend lies a grave warning."
"Until more countries mend the gaps in routine immunization coverage, children everywhere will remain at risk of contracting and dying from diseases we can prevent. Viruses like measles do not recognize borders. Efforts must urgently be strengthened to catch up with children who missed their vaccination while restoring and further improving immunization services from pre-pandemic levels."
The latest report said that in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunization services, compared to 24.4 million children in 2021. Despite this improvement, the number remains higher than the 18.4 million children who missed out in 2019 before pandemic-related disruptions, underscoring the need for ongoing catch-up, recovery and system-strengthening efforts.