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IRELAND WAS AMONG over 50 countries around the world that lost confidence in the importance of childhood vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report on immunisation from UNICEF.
According to the report, published today, the public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined in 52 out of 55 countries studied.
In Ireland, the perception fell by six percentage points, but support overall remained high at 86%.
The reduction in confidence was relatively even in terms of age ranges, with confidence among under 35s reducing by 3.4% compared to a 3.1% reduction among 35-65 year olds.
Meanwhile, male confidence reduced by 7.30% compared to female confidence, which fell by 4.8%.
There was widespread misinformation about Covid-19 shared online during the pandemic. The Journal Factchecked many of these claims, including here, here and here.
The data shows that the perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined by more than a third in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan after the start of the pandemic.
China, India and Mexico were the only countries studied where the data indicates the perception of the importance of vaccines held firm or improved.
In most countries, people under 35 and women were more likely to report less confidence about vaccines for children after the start of the pandemic.
The report warned that vaccine confidence is “volatile and time specific” and said that additional data collection and further analysis will be needed to determine if the findings are indicative of a longer-term trend.
Despite the decline in confidence, more than 80% of respondents in over half of the countries surveyed “perceived vaccines as important for children”.
“At the height of the pandemic, scientists rapidly developed vaccines that saved countless lives. But despite this historic achievement, fear and disinformation about all types of vaccines circulated as widely as the virus itself,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.
“This data is a worrying warning signal. We cannot allow confidence in routine immunisations 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.”
The change in the perception of vaccinations came amid the largest sustained backslide in childhood immunisation in 30 years due to pandemic-related disruptions, the report said.
In total, 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021. Of those, 48 million didn’t receive a single routine vaccine, also known as “zero-dose”.
Vaccine coverage levels declined in 112 countries, while the percentage of children vaccinated worldwide slipped 5 points to 81% – a low not seen since 2008.
As of the end of 2021, India and Nigeria had the largest numbers of zero-dose children, but increases in the numbers of zero-dose children were especially notable in Myanmar and the Philippines, the report said.
UNICEF warned that last year, the number of measles cases was more than double the total in 2021, while the number of children paralysed by polio was up 16% year-on-year in 2022.
“When comparing the 2019 to 2021 period with the previous three-year period, there was an eight-fold increase in the number of children paralysed by polio, highlighting the need to ensure vaccination efforts are sustained,” it said.
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Imagine giving your child a “vaccine” with no long term safety data, for a virus that they’re not at risk from. What an earth were people thinking?
@Brian: virtue signalling and attention
Media in Ireland and worldwide have a lot of questions to answer for their relentlessly one sided pandemic hysteria, and slandering anyone who asked questions as ‘far right ‘ or an ‘anti vaxxer’,whatever that even means.
@alan collins: It means someone who’s against the use of vaccines. I think it’s pretty self explanatory myself….
@Michael Byrne: ah, you’re the brains of the operation I see….
Even long after we knew that the vaccine did not stop person to person covid spread the media continued to promote children getting jabbed.
Will there ever be an enquiry as to the one question …… why ? (Probably continue the same tired excuse “the science was changing”)
@BLD Games: evidence that this is case? The vaccine was very effective at reducing symptoms and risk of serious complications.
As soon as I read that the ema came out with that vaccinating children for covid 19 was going to benefit adults and the economy more than children it made up my mind on it. I’m not saying I wouldn’t get my kids vaccinated for other things but they don’t need a covid shot anyway unless they have underlying issues.
@Edward Reid: they don’t need 1 anyway, look at the data, the science changed so you don’t have too..
There was an enormous and sustained push to get the vaccine into everyone. The people who warned against it were treated despicably by the media and society in general. Many good people who cared about others, and resisted the all out propoganda, lost their jobs and are still being treated as criminals. I hope all the gushing sympathisers who followed the “science” with big pharmaceutical corporations, do not enjoy the profits gleaned from their shares. The only “science” they were interested in were the profits that were to be made.
@TheQueenofHibernia: but but but Science…sorry you can’t argue with it now be quiet and get that vaccine into you and your kids or we’ll mock you, call you names and make you sit outside in the rain while the apparent clever ones will have their creamy pints and feel.all smug about it!
We trust our government (s) Just look at the brilliant plans they had ready to kick into action when something as predictable as a pandemic hit.
Giving your kids this was the only thing that was more shameful than the huge numbers of people who acquiesced to the government’s disgusting treatment of those who refused. People seem to have amnesia about this but I will never forget how myself and my family were treated as second class citizens during this fiasco. How quick people were to treat their fellow countrymen like dirt. If you did this, shame on you.
@Brian: Relax it’s over, you would swear you were tortured the way you are going on. You aren’t vindicated by not getting the vaccine by the way, the crazy anti vax crowd said we would all be dead after 6 months for taking the vaccine, then it was 12 months. It’s been two years and I’m still not dead. I’d rather have taken my chances with the vaccine than potentially suffocate to death.
@Alan Biddulph: Thousands of people have had extremely bad reactions from the vaccine & no one has any answers for them!
@Alan Biddulph: case in point, wow…ya just don’t get it do you… nevermind, other people are doing you’re thinking for you…
Transparency and debate needs to improve to regain confidence. Also why do we accept that all the big regulators receive 50-90% of their income from the pharma industry. Until that changes I can’t see how there is any arms-length regulating, it’s a serious conflict of interest.
Also there doesn’t seem to be much interest in following up on the many safety signals breached, while safety trials not completed to promised standards (MHRA) and vaccine injuries largely dismissed / ignored, while death records are no longer published by vax status.
The vaccines being talked about in the article are the normal routine childhood vaccines such as MMR and 4 in 1 not Covid vaccines for kids as the commenters seem to think
@louie mac: its shocking how these people are supposed to be awakened and know more than everybody else yet they can’t read an article properly.
@Fi Wyse: Yes, it’s shocking the way so many eminent scientists seem to struggle with literacy these days.
I can physically feel my brain melting reading the comments here.
@Alan Farrell: And of course, most of them are anonymous
@Alan Farrell: that’s a known side effect of the vaccine!
@Johnny King: quick…get some more vaccines before they dump them all clever boy!
Low IQ commenters, who ‘dO thEIr Own rEsEArch’, fail to read and/or comprehend the content and context of this article.
@Alan biddulph. Can’t reply directly because this site is buggy af. Have you ever been coerced by the government to try and make you take an unwanted medical procedure? Have you ever been shamed in national media and in public for the same thing? Have you ever been in your car with your kid and listened to Pat Kenny and politicians call you paranoid and selfish for not taking their injection… and then having to explain to your child why they’re saying those things about you? Ever have to apologise to your child for not being able take them to the cinema? Ever miss out on that last family meal before your grandmother dies? You have no idea how angry I am. Go F yourself, you garbage human.
@Brian: Brian you should get your hysteria checked out, sounds like you are still having a mare of it.
@Alan Biddulph: I haven’t heard of anyone unhappy with the way COVID was handled , handing back the generous allowance they were all given.
@Alan Biddulph: only when the likes of you start talking your usual predictable BS.
@Alan b: Sounds like you’re a total a$$hole. Hope that vax works out for, will probably be fine…. Lol.
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