One in four children in Latin America and the Caribbean aren’t fully vaccinated against DTP3 - diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough).
In 2015, full DTP3 vaccination in the region stood at 90%. But, by 2020, data collected by UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) found that the rate had dropped to 76%.
In Trinidad and Tobago, DTP3 is given to children over three shots within their first year.
The Covid disruption
UNICEF noted that the drop off in vaccinations began before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the disruption in primary healthcare services and fears of the virus spreading caused many children to go without their routine vaccinations.
Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean described the phenomenon as alarming.
"The decline in vaccination rates in the region is alarming and puts millions of children and adolescents at risk of dangerous diseases that could be prevented.
"The solution, and it has been proven to be effective: stronger vaccination programmes," she said.
Zero doses
The decline in vaccination rates between 2015 and 2020 means nearly 2.5 million children are without the complete DTP vaccination schedule and are at risk of dangerous preventable diseases.
Alarmingly, 1.5 million of those are “zero doses”, meaning they haven't even received the first dose of that vaccine.
Gough explained that the reduced vaccine coverage leaves children exposed to a resurgence of preventable diseases and epidemiological outbreaks – some of which have already taken place.
Rising cases
The UNICEF Regional Director noted that there were only five people in the region with diphtheria in 2013, but five years later, almost 900 cases were registered - based on available data from PAHO.
When it comes to measles – caused by a highly-contagious virus – Gough said it’s even more concerning.
Close to 500 cases were reported in 2013, but in 2019, more than 23,000 cases were recorded.
Opportunities
She said: "As countries recover from the pandemic, immediate actions are needed to prevent coverage rates from further dropping, because the re-emergence of disease outbreaks poses a serious risk to all of society.
“This is an opportunity to restructure primary health care and reinforce the comprehensive and community approach that bring vaccines to the most vulnerable populations. We cannot lose the efforts of past decades and let dangerous diseases threaten the lives of children.”