Reacción a "Childhood vaccination rates have stagnated since 2010"

This is a timely study that attempts to quantify global trends in childhood vaccine coverage since 1980.  The findings highlight the remarkable progress that has been made to deliver life-saving vaccines across the globe, while painting a clear picture of the challenges faced following disrupted vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic and the stagnation in vaccination rates that preceded it.

Underpinning the work is an immense data curation effort, drawing together data from household surveys, national coverage reports, and various other sources from across the globe.  The study team estimated coverage trends with careful consideration of the biases, gaps, and inconsistencies that are inherent in these data, providing strong foundations for the study’s conclusions.

A key uncertainty – acknowledged by the authors – is that it is too early to know what effect proposed funding cuts might have on vaccination programmes globally.  The recent resurgence of measles, polio, and diphtheria – all preventable by vaccination – serves as a reminder of what is at stake if high and equitable vaccine coverage is not sustained.