India quashes report claiming children missed DTP vaccine; records highest coverage in '21

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday refuted media reports alleging that lakhs of children in India have missed routine vaccinations due to disruptions caused by COVID-19, leading to an increased risk of future outbreaks and deaths.

According to the official data shared by the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 3 million children in India missed out on their first dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis combination vaccination (DTP-1) in 2020. It added that 3.5 million more children did not receive the first dose of the DPT 1 vaccine in 2019 than in 2018, and 3 million more children did not receive their first measles shot.

"These reports are not based on facts and don't reflect the true picture," the government said in an official statement. "It is clarified that since COVID outbreak, the Health Ministry has been focused on maintaining essential services including immunization under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)," it added. 

The Ministry clarified that the country has achieved the highest-ever 99% DTP3 coverage in the first quarter of 2021 (January – March) as measured by the Health Management Information System (HMIS). 

"As a result of the commitment of Government of India and public health workforce, the country has achieved 99% DTP3 coverage in the first quarter of 2021 (January – March) as measured by HMIS. This is the highest DTP3 coverage measured till date: 

The GoI also mentioned that the Health Ministry, along with all States and development partners has worked towards mitigating the negative impacts of COVID-19 and taking urgent actions to ensure that children receive life-saving vaccines under UIP. 

3 million Indian children missed the DTP-1 vaccine?

According to official data released by the WHO and the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), India saw the largest increase in the number of children who did not receive DPT 1 initially last year compared to 2019. In 2020, 3,038,000 children in India did not receive their first DTP-1 dosage, compared to 1,403,000 in 2019.

It claimed that in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the childhood immunization process around the world, resulting in about 23 million children missing out on basic vaccines through normal immunization services.