IPA Statement at 74th World Health Assembly, Agenda 13.8 on Immunization Agenda 2030
While many countries are still grappling with waves COVID-19, we believe in power of vaccines and hope that vaccines will get us to towards the end of this pandemic. IPA fully supports the Immunization Agenda 2030 and is ready to play an active role in its implementation.
Patient safety includes recognizing that omission of critical preventive services is also an important, and preventable safety error. The IPA applauds WHO's commitments to patient safety and looks forward to this year's theme - Safe maternal and newborn care - recognizing that a safe start in life is the first step towards achieving health goals. Immunization is a critical part of safe care. So is appropriate antibiotic stewardship.
The global impact of the pandemic has put stress on delivery of essential health services, including routine immunization drives for children, and efforts are needed to revamp and strengthen routine immunization services. 80 million children under the age of one are at risk for developing a vaccine-preventable illness. This is because they live in countries where routine immunization services have been disrupted by the pandemic.
In parallel, an overflow of information in digital and physical environments has led to confusion, risk-taking and behaviors that can harm health and has led to erosion of trust and/or building of mistrust in health authorities and public health responses. The Lancet study mapping global trends in vaccine confidence through 2015-2019 across 149 countries found that the "viral spread of misinformation" significantly contributed to the fall of confidence in vaccines in several parts of the globe, and raises a significant concern that the spread of misinformation might make it even more challenging for vaccines to minimize the burden of COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
As the foundation of vaccination acceptance is a public trust and trust in the healthcare professionals, in December 2020, IPA in collaboration with partner organizations launched the IPA Vaccine Trust Course with an aim to increase and utilize the communications and advocacy skillsets of health workers to provide and promote vaccines and immunization. To date, over 2500 healthcare workers across 120+ countries have engaged with our course. Our leaders in countries stand ready to work with their governments to achieve global immunization goals.
It is not an easy task to deal with vaccine hesitancy, vaccine-related misinformation, and other challenges ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine. IPA fully support Immunization Agenda 2030 and looks forward to being working with WHO and partners to ensure that everyone, everywhere, at every age, gets full benefits from vaccines to improve health and well-being.