News briefs

COVID‐19 fuels largest backslide in vaccinations in three decades

The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30years has been recorded in official data published by the WHO and UNICEF. The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) — a marker for immunisation coverage within and across countries — fell 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81%. As a result, 25 million children missed out on one or more doses of DTP through routine immunisation services in 2021 alone. This is 2 million more than those who missed out in 2020 and 6 million more than in 2019, highlighting the growing number of children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases. The decline was due to many factors including an increased number of children living in conflict and fragile settings where immunisation access is often challenging, increased misinformation and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)‐related issues such as service and supply chain disruptions, resource diversion to response efforts, and containment measures that limited immunisation service access and availability. Eighteen million of the 25 million children did not receive a single dose of DTP during the year, most of whom live in low and middle‐income countries, with India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the Philippines recording the highest numbers. Among countries with the largest relative increases in the number of children who did not receive a single vaccine between 2019 and 2021 are Myanmar and Mozambique. Globally, over a quarter of the coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines that was achieved in 2019 has been lost. This has grave consequences for the health of women and girls, as global coverage of the first dose of HPV vaccine is only 15%, despite the first vaccines being licensed over 15years ago. This historic backsliding in rates of immunisation is happening against a backdrop of rapidly rising rates of severe acute malnutrition. A malnourished child already has weakened immunity, and missed vaccinations can mean common childhood illnesses quickly become lethal to them. The convergence of a hunger crisis with a growing immunisation gap threatens to create the conditions for a child survival crisis.

https://data.unicef.org/topic/child‐health/immunization/

https://immunizationdata.who.int/

No health benefits in alcohol for under 40s, but small amount may benefit older people

Young people face higher health risks from alcohol consumption than older adults, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet. The study suggests that global alcohol consumption recommendations should be based on age and location, with the strictest guidelines targeted toward males aged 15–39years, who are at the greatest risk of harmful alcohol consumption worldwide. The research also indicates that adults aged 40years and older without underlying health conditions may see some benefits from small alcohol consumption (between one and two standard drinks per day), including a reduced risk in cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. Using estimates of alcohol use in 204 countries, researchers calculated that 1.34 billion people consumed harmful amounts in 2020. In every region, the largest segment of the population drinking unsafe amounts of alcohol were males aged 15–39years and for this age group, drinking alcohol does not provide any health benefits and presents many health risks, with 60% of alcohol‐related injuries occurring among people in this age group, including motor vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides. The researchers looked at the risk of alcohol consumption on 22 health outcomes, including injuries, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers using 2020 Global Burden of Disease data for males and females aged 15–95years and older between 1990 and 2020, in 204 countries and territories. The recommended amount of alcohol for people aged 15–39years before risking health loss was 0.136 standard drinks per day (a little more than one‐tenth of a standard drink). That amount was slightly higher for females aged 15–39years at 0.273 drinks (about a quarter of a standard drink per day). One standard drink is defined as 10g of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to a small glass of red wine (100mL or 3.4floz) at 13% alcohol by volume, a can or bottle of beer (375mL or 12floz) at 3.5% alcohol by volume, or a shot of whiskey or other spirits (30mL or 1.0floz) at 40% alcohol by volume.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140‐6736(22)00847‐9/fulltextdoi:10.5694/mja2.51668