Longevity & AgingGlobal Childhood Vaccination Coverage Stalls After 50 Years of Progress
This GBD 2023 systematic analysis tracked 11 routine childhood vaccine-dose combinations across 204 countries from 1980 to 2023. Global coverage for original EPI vaccines nearly doubled over four decades, but progress slowed dramatically after 2010 and reversed during the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2023, coverage had still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Newer vaccines like PCV3 and MCV2 continued to expand but below expected trajectories. Forecasts to 2030 suggest only DTP3—and only under an optimistic scenario—will meet the WHO Immunization Agenda 2030 target of 90% global coverage. An estimated 15.7 million zero-dose children remain, concentrated in Nigeria, India, DRC, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, and Brazil, underscoring persistent inequities that must be urgently addressed.
