Routine pediatric immunizations are down worldwide. The World Health Organization and UNICEF reported that about 23 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines last year—one more devastating side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here in the United States, where August is National Immunization Awareness Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sounding the alarm, too. In a recent report, the agency noted a substantial decrease in the number of routine childhood and adolescent vaccinations in 10 U.S. jurisdictions from March to May 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019.
