Millions of children who missed routine vaccinations during the pandemic may be vaccinated as part of “The Big Catch-up,” a global initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners.
“The pandemic saw essential immunization levels decrease in over 100 countries, leading to rising outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio, and yellow fever,” wrote the WHO in its media statement published on April 24. The WHO previously reported that more than 25 million children missed routine vaccination in 2021 (pdf).
Though the WHO attributes the rise in infectious diseases to fallen immunization rates, some studies have reasoned that the lockdowns reduced people’s exposure to infectious diseases and may have left individuals to emerge from the pandemic with compromised immune systems. Another reason put forward is that the COVID-19 vaccinations may have led to immune suppression, making people more susceptible to future infections….