By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that despite improvements in COVID-19 vaccination, more than 20 million children missed one or more doses last year, with another 15 million completely opting out of vaccination.
Global immunization against the COVID-19 pandemic reached 4 million more children in 2022 than the previous year, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva.
"This is encouraging news, but large gaps remain, and global and regional averages mask severe and persistent inequities, especially in low-income countries," he added.
However, more concerning is that nearly 15 million children were not immunized last year, Ghebreyesus said.
"Almost 15 million missed out entirely,” he said.
"We're still falling behind on our targets for reaching children with measles, HPV, yellow fever, and many other vaccines, and risking outbreaks and suffering as a result of diseases that can be easily prevented," he said.
Only 15 of the 75 countries with significant immunization losses have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, he noted, adding that the rest are stagnant or declining further.
"Most concerning is that low-income countries have yet to show signs of recovery," he said, drawing global attention to the issue.
Concerning the current heat wave, particularly in Europe, Ghebreyesus said extreme heat takes "the greatest toll" on those least able to manage its consequences, such as the elderly, infants and children, and the poor and homeless.
It also puts more strain on health care systems, he said.
He noted that the WHO, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization, is supporting countries to develop Heat Health Action Plans to coordinate preparedness and reduce the impacts of excessive heat on health.