Greater efforts required to get routine immunization back to pre-Covid times: WHO
News 18The World Health Organization on Saturday called for greater efforts in the South-East Asia Region to revive routine immunization rates to pre-Covid times, stressing that despite concerted efforts by countries, challenges and gaps persist. Nepal substantially revived routine immunization coverage for DTP3 from 84 per cent in 2020 to 91 per cent in 2021. All countries in the South-East Asia Region focused on routine immunization while prioritizing essential services during the pandemic and concerted efforts continue to be made to scale-up vaccination coverage, with a focus on identifying and vaccinating ‘missed children’, the world health body said. To revitalize routine immunization coverage following the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO convened a South-East Asia Regional Working Group on Immunization in March this year focusing on programme intensification, it said.