By Arabella Asis
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined by 25% in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the report, 52 out of 55 countries experienced a reduction in vaccine confidence with the exceptions of China, India, and Mexico.
UNICEF also found out that 67 million children globally missed out on routine vaccination from 2019 to 2022.
In the Philippines, one million children are experiencing “zero-dose” or have not yet received a single routine vaccine, placing the country in the fifth-highest “zero-dose” case globally.
UNICEF also attributed several factors resulting in the decline in the country such as cultural factors and concerns about vaccine safety.
“This data is a worrying warning signal. We cannot allow confidence in routine immunizations to become another victim of the pandemic. Otherwise, the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria, or other preventable diseases,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stated.
UNICEF called on the government to double down its efforts and commitment “to increase financing for immunization and to work with stakeholders to unlock available resources, including leftover COVID-19 funds, to urgently implement and accelerate catch-up vaccination efforts to protect children and prevent disease outbreaks.”
“With resources still available from the COVID-19 vaccination drive, now is the time to redirect those funds to strengthen immunization services and invest in sustainable systems for every child,” Russell emphasized. – gb