According to U.N. health officials, more than 14 million children worldwide did not receive a single vaccine. The number reportedly is about the same as the year prior. 14 million children were saved. pic.twitter.com/DUao1R2CuI — Luther ‘Ćyrus’ (@Censored4sure) July 15, 2025 More details from the Associated Press: In their annual estimate of global vaccine coverage, released Tuesday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said about 89% of children under 1 year old got a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine in 2024, the same as in 2023. About 85% completed the three-dose series, up from 84% in 2023. Officials acknowledged, however, that the collapse of international aid this year will make it more difficult to reduce the number of unprotected children. In January, U.S. President Trump withdrew the country from the WHO, froze nearly all humanitarian aid and later moved to close the U.S. AID Agency. And last month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it was pulling the billions of dollars the U.S. had previously pledged to the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the group had “ignored the science.” Over 14 million children have never received a single vaccine, despite steady global childhood immunization levels. Latest data by @‌WHO and UNICEF:https://t.co/fHX6WWhTnL pic.twitter.com/SclI6dCj3e — UNICEF (@UNICEF) July 15, 2025 The WHO said 84% of children got the first dose of the measles vaccine. 76% of children received the second dose. #Measles is preventable with two doses of vaccine. Yet in 2024, 30+ million children remained under-protected, leading to more large or disruptive outbreaks. Only 76% of children got the second dose, far below the 95% coverage needed to stop outbreaks https://t.co/2kZnoI3fjn pic.twitter.com/R0kPi0lrHn — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 17, 2025 Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last month the United States would not provide Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance further funding until it regained “public trust.” “In its zeal to promote universal vaccination, @gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety. When vaccine safety issues have come before GAVI, it has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem. During the COVID-19 pandemic, GAVI partnered with the World Health Organization to recommend best practices for social media companies to silence dissenting views and to stifle free speech and legitimate questions during that period,” RFK Jr. said. “GAVI should consider the best science available, even when that science contradicts established paradigms. It should define success not just in terms of the number of vaccines delivered, but on their rigorously measured overall impacts,” he continued. “I call on GAVI to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8 billion dollars that America has provided in funding since 2001. Until that happens the United States won’t contribute more to GAVI. Business as usual is over,” he added. Watch RFK Jr.’s message: In its zeal to promote universal vaccination, @gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety. When vaccine safety issues have come before GAVI, it has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem. During the COVID-19… pic.twitter.com/z140rJQMnn — Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 25, 2025 The UNICEF report reads: Still, nearly 20 million infants missed at least one dose of DTP-containing vaccine last year. This includes 14.3 million “zero-dose” children who never received a single dose of any vaccine – 4 million more than the 2024 target needed to stay on track with Immunization Agenda 2030 goals, and 1.4 million more than in 2019, the baseline year for measuring progress. “Vaccines save lives, allowing individuals, families, communities, economies and nations to flourish,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It’s encouraging to see a continued increase in the number of children being vaccinated, although we still have a lot of work to do. Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress. WHO remains committed to working with our partners to support countries to develop local solutions and increase domestic investment to reach all children with the lifesaving power of vaccines.” Children often remain un- or under-vaccinated due to a combination of factors, such as limited access to immunization services, disrupted supply, conflict and instability, or misinformation about vaccines. Since 2019, data from 195 countries show that 131 countries have consistently reached at least 90 per cent of children with the first dose of DTP, but there has been no significant movement in expanding this group. Among the countries that reached less than 90 per cent in 2019, only 17 managed to increase their coverage rates in the past five years. Meanwhile, in 47 countries, progress is stalling or worsening. This includes 22 countries that achieved and surpassed the 90 per cent target in 2019 but have since declined. The data shows conflict and humanitarian crises can quickly erode vaccination progress. A quarter of the world’s infants live in just 26 countries affected by fragility, conflict, or humanitarian crises, yet they make up half of all unvaccinated children globally. Concerningly, in half of these countries, the number of unvaccinated children has expanded rapidly from 3.6 million in 2019 to 5.4 million in 2024, underscoring the need for humanitarian responses to include immunization. Immunization coverage in the 57 low-income countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance have improved in the past year, with a reduction of roughly 600,000 un- and under-vaccinated children. While Gavi-supported countries are protecting more children against more diseases than ever before, significant challenges persist due to conflicts and population growth. At the same time, signs of slippage are emerging in upper-middle- and high-income countries that have previously maintained at least 90 per cent coverage. Even small declines in immunization coverage can dramatically raise the risk of disease outbreaks and place additional strain on already overstretched health systems.