Global childhood vaccination inches forward but still trails 2019 levels

Overview

Updated Sep 11

Global childhood vaccination rates rose one point in 2025, but the world still hasn't recovered ground lost during the pandemic. New WHO-UNICEF data show 90% of infants got at least one dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine — roughly 116 million babies — yet coverage remains one point below 2019 levels.

The bigger problem sits underneath. An estimated 13.5 million children received no vaccines at all in 2025 — 674,000 more than in 2019 — and 7.3 million started the schedule but dropped out before their measles shot. Cuts to international health financing announced over the last two years, along with shrinking data systems, put the global target of halving zero-dose children further out of reach.

Why it matters

If immunization funding cuts hold, modest gains will reverse and preventable disease outbreaks will spread — 57 countries already reported large measles outbreaks in 2025.

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Key Indicators

90%

Infants receiving first DTP dose (2025)

Nearly 116 million infants got at least one dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine.

85%

Infants completing all three DTP doses (2025)

About 110 million babies — one point above 2024 but one below 2019.

13.5 million

Zero-dose children (2025)

Children who received no vaccines in their first year. 674,000 more than in 2019.

84%

First measles dose coverage (MCV1)

Far below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious virus.

Countries reporting large measles outbreaks (2025)

One in four countries experienced disruptive outbreaks as coverage stagnated.

33%

Global first-dose HPV vaccine coverage in girls

Up from 17% in 2019, but far below the 90% target for 2030.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Director-General, World Health Organization

Leading WHO's response to immunization coverage data

Catherine Russell

Executive Director, UNICEF

Leading UNICEF's immunization advocacy and field programs

Organizations Involved

World Health Organization

International agency

Co-publisher of the annual WUENIC immunization estimates

UN agency that coordinates global health policy and co-publishes immunization coverage data with UNICEF.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

UN agency

Co-publisher of WUENIC; leads zero-dose child outreach programs

UN children's agency that runs immunization programs in more than 100 countries.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

International partnership

Supports immunization in countries where most zero-dose children live

Alliance that funds and procures vaccines for lower-income countries, covering 74% average coverage in supported nations.

Timeline

January 2019 September 2026

5 events Latest: September 11th, 2026 · 4 weeks ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

September 2026
Human Progress reports on 2025 coverage data
Latest Report

Summarizes WHO-UNICEF estimates; coverage rises but trails 2019 and 13.5 million children remain zero-dose.
September 11th, 2026
July 2026
WHO-UNICEF release 2025 immunization estimates
Data Release

DTP1 hits 90% and DTP3 85%, each one point up, but still one point below 2019.
July 15th, 2026
July 2024
WUENIC shows stalled recovery
Data Release

Coverage partially recovers but remains below pre-pandemic levels; zero-dose numbers plateau.
July 15th, 2024
March 2020
WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic
Disruption

Routine immunization services disrupted worldwide, causing the largest coverage drop in decades.
March 11th, 2020
January 2019
Baseline year set for Immunization Agenda 2030
Baseline

Global agencies set 2019 as the reference point; 12.8 million zero-dose children recorded.
January 1st, 2019

Scenarios

Funding cuts push global coverage backward

Possible Resolves by Jul 15, 2027

Discussed by: WHO and UNICEF statements warning that cuts to international health financing will erase gains

International health financing cuts announced over 2024-2025 begin to bite in Gavi-supported countries. Immunization campaigns lose capacity, and countries already below 90% DTP3 coverage fall further. Measles outbreaks spread beyond the 57 nations that reported them in 2025, with coverage slipping below current levels.

Coverage recovers to 2019 levels

Unlikely Resolves by Jul 15, 2027

Discussed by: WHO/UNICEF and IA2030 partners calling for increased investment

Countries with declining rates — South Africa, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina — reverse course. New data systems help find zero-dose children. Funding cuts stall or get partially reversed. Global DTP3 hits 86%, matching 2019, and measles outbreaks recede.

Stagnation persists into the next data cycle

Likely Resolves by Jul 15, 2027

Discussed by: WHO/UNICEF analysts noting coverage has hovered in the same narrow range since 2009

Modest gains in some regions offset by declines elsewhere. Funding cuts slow progress without causing collapse. Coverage stays within the 84-86% range. The world continues missing IA2030 milestones, with zero-dose numbers barely moving.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1988-present

Global Polio Eradication Initiative (1988-present)

The initiative launched in 1988 targeting polio elimination by 2000. Cases fell by 99%, but transmission persisted for decades in conflict-affected countries — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria — and areas with vaccine refusal.

Then

Polio was confined to a handful of countries by the mid-2000s, but eradication kept slipping.

Now

Reaching the final unreached children proved far harder than the initial gains.

Why this matters now

Today's zero-dose children sit in the same places polio's last cases did — conflict zones and communities with weak health systems.

2018-2019

Measles resurgence before the pandemic (2018-2019)

Measles cases spiked to their highest levels in decades as vaccination coverage fell below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. Large outbreaks hit the US, Ukraine, the Philippines, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Then

Record case counts; hundreds of thousands sickened, many of them children.

Now

Reinforced the public-health message that measles coverage must stay above 95%.

Why this matters now

Today's 84% first-dose and 77% second-dose measles coverage sits well below that threshold, and 57 countries reported large outbreaks in 2025.

1974-1990

Expanded Programme on Immunization (1974-1990)

WHO launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization in 1974 when global coverage for six childhood diseases was below 5%. Within a decade and a half, driven by sustained global funding and country commitment, coverage of these vaccines rose to roughly 80%.

Then

Millions of child deaths prevented annually across low-income countries.

Now

Demonstrated that immunization coverage can scale rapidly — and erode just as quickly when funding or political will wanes.

Why this matters now

The same dynamic is visible now: gains since 2019 have stalled, and funding cuts threaten to reverse them.