Health experts call for laser focus on vaccinating ‘zero-dose’ children

At least 20 million children did not receive even the diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus shot, says health leader

Children in low income and middle income countries were not immunised despite an increase in development of vaccines in the last decade, said health experts on Monday in an online discussion held by Internews, a global media network.

“The term ‘zero-dose’ children was coined when we realised that between 2010 and 2019, at least 20 million children did not receive even the diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) shot,” said Anuradha Gupta, president, Global Immunization, Sabin Vaccine Institute. “There has been a 37% increase of zero-dose children over the last two years. We need to bring laser focus in vaccinating them,” she said.

The institute, while working with Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, found the children lived in extremely poor households that do not have access to hygiene and nutrition and were prone to malnutrition and stunting, added Ms. Gupta,

The experts - Jaya Shreedhar, Health Media Advisor, Internews; Rubina Qasim, Assistant Professor, Dow University of Health Sciences; Anant Bhan, past president, International Association of Bioethics; Tsering Lama, public health researcher; Rubina Qasim, Assistant Professor, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Dow University of Health Sciences and Deepika Gumaste, freelance journalist - discussed sociocultural and logistical challenges in vaccine delivery to minority communities and the role of media in disseminating authentic information on vaccines.

Accessibility to vaccine centres for visually impaired and deaf-mute people must also be taken into account, said Dr. Bhan. Dr. Lama flagged vaccine hesitancy and low coverage in Terai, a Nepal district south of Kathmandu during COVID-19. “Female community health volunteers were also misinformed. Frontline workers need to have proper training and awareness on communication to clarify rumors,” she said.