Confidence in childhood vaccines dropped during COVID pandemic, UNICEF report finds

People all over the world lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines against killer diseases like measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from UNICEF (Source: “People lost faith in childhood vaccines during COVID pandemic, UNICEF says,” Reuters, April 20).

In 52 of the 55 countries surveyed, the public perception of vaccines for children declined between 2019 and 2021, according to a report from the UN agency.

The data was a "worrying warning signal" of rising vaccine hesitancy amid misinformation, dwindling trust in governments and political polarization, UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, said.

"We cannot allow confidence in routine immunizations to become another victim of the pandemic," Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said in a statement. "Otherwise, the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria or other preventable diseases.”