GENEVA — Nearly 23 million children missed out on routine vaccinations last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest number in more than a decade, fueling outbreaks of measles, polio and other preventable diseases, U.N. agencies said on Thursday.
Measles, one of the world’s most contagious diseases, can be fatal to children under the age of five, especially in African and Asian countries with weak health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Polio can cripple a child for life.
The gap in global vaccination coverage has set up a “perfect storm”, leaving more children vulnerable to infectious pathogens just as many countries eas…
Keep on reading: Child diseases on rise as COVID-19 slows routine vaccinations–UN