Covid-19 Halts Global Vaccination Programme

• 23 May 2020

Why in News

As per the report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners, nearly 80 million children under the age of 1 are at risk of contracting deadly but vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, polio and diphtheria.

• This is so because many countries have postponed their vaccine campaigns due to Covid-19.
• The report has come ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit on 4^th June, at which world leaders are expected to come together to help maintain immunization programmes and mitigate the impact of the pandemic in lower-income countries.
  
  • The Summit will provide an opportunity for the international community to pledge its support for Gavi’s five-year strategy (2021-2025) which is aimed at immunizing 300 million children and saving up to 8 million lives.
• The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Washington, USA), and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (Gavi), are the partner organisations.

Key Points

• Data:
  
  • More than half (53%) of the 129 countries where data were available reported moderate-to-severe disruptions, or a total suspension of vaccination services during March-April 2020.
• Reasons for the disruption:
  
  • Vaccination, which is typically done in mass campaigns, has been stopped due to fear of breaking social distancing guidelines needed to stop the spread of Covid-19.
  • Health workers who provide vaccinations have also been diverted to help with the response to the pandemic.
  • Also, there has been a significant delay in planned vaccine deliveries due to lockdown measures and reduction in the number of available flights.
    
    • More than 40 of Africa's 54 nations have closed their borders, though some allow cargo and emergency transport.
• Concerns:
  
  • Disruption to immunization programs from the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to undo decades of progress against vaccine-preventable diseases like Measles, Polio and Diphtheria.
  • According to the experts, children need routine immunizations before the age of 2.

Immunization

• It is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine.
• Functioning:
  
  • A vaccine usually consists of two parts and is usually given through an injection. The first part is the antigen, which is a piece of disease one’s body must learn to recognise. The second part is the adjuvant, which sends a danger signal to the body and helps the immune system to respond strongly against the antigen.
  • In simple terms, vaccines work by exposing a person to a safer version of a disease. While the body responds to the vaccine, it builds an adaptive immune system, which helps the body to fight off the actual infection in the future.
• According to the WHO, vaccination prevents between two-three million deaths each year, a figure that will rise by another 1.5 million if vaccine coverage improves.

Way Forward

• There is an urgent need to focus upon the Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020 that is a framework to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.
• It is equally important for the countries to give importance to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 i.e. Good Health and Well being.
• There is a need for an immediate action plan to restart the vaccination programmes through better health infrastructure and medical equipment during the corona crisis.
• Countries should start efforts at individual level e.g. India can expedite the vaccination programmes under the Mission Indardhanush.

Source: ET