Immunization

Last update: July 2023 | Next update: July 2024

test

Vaccines for COVID-19 are critical tools for helping to bring the pandemic under control when combined with effective testing, treatment and existing prevention measures. Vaccinating the world against this disease is the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history – and UNICEF is leading this effort on behalf of the Global COVAX Facility.

The historic global rollout is unprecedented in terms of speed, scale and demographics reached. Yet despite progress, inequities between lower and higher-income countries are continuing to cost lives and are prolonging the pandemic.

Global vaccination coverage has seen some recovery in 2022. However, there are still 20.5 million children missing out on lifesaving vaccines globally, 2.1 million more than in 2019

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide administration of the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine – often used to assess how well countries are doing in providing routine immunization services to children – experienced a decline in global coverage. In 2019, the coverage stood at 86 per cent, but by 2021, it had dropped to 81 per cent, marking its lowest level since 2008. However, there is some positive news as per the 2022 WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC). In 2022, there was a slight recovery, with DTP3 coverage increasing to 84 per cent.

 

Frequently asked questions