Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, child vaccination has suffered a backslide all over the world. In 2020 alone, some 25 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines through routine health services.

Low confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and misinformation about their impact on health among some communities has a spillover adverse impact on routine child immunization programs. The resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases underscores the need for in-depth understanding about immunization basics; story telling on how the pandemic has severely disrupted national health systems and routine immunization schedules; and what needs to be done to get immunization back on track.

This downloadable PDF guide for journalists covers the following:

• What is the difference between immunization and vaccination?
• What is an immunization schedule and why is it important?
• What is the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) and how does it improve child vaccinations in routine immunizations?
• How do immunization programs keep track of their routine immunization work and how has COVID-19 affected the programs?
• Exploring the reasons behind why parents refuse to get their children vaccinated
• Are children with malnutrition at a greater risk of death from vaccine-preventable diseases and has COVID-19 exacerbated the situation?
• Will the Immunization Agenda 2030 help meet global child immunization goals?