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The coronavirus pandemic could jeopardize vaccination campaigns in the Middle East and North Africa, UNICEF warned Sunday, saying that millions of children could miss out on polio and measles vaccines.
The UN agency said most countries in the region continued routine campaigns, under strict controls to prevent the spread of the virus.
But he warned that some vaccination campaigns had been suspended because health workers were diverted to fight the COVID-19 disease.
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“As a result, one in five children or 10 million children under the age of five are at risk of not receiving the polio vaccine,” it said in a statement.
“Nearly 4.5 million children under the age of 15 are at risk of not receiving the measles vaccine.”
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Ted Chaiban, UNICEF regional director, said it was “absolutely critical that every child be vaccinated against deadly diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria and hepatitis.”
He said measures like disinfection, protective clothing and social distancing meant that “vaccination for children is possible even in times of COVID.”
UNICEF and the World Health Organization warned in mid-April that around 117 million children worldwide were at risk of contracting measles when dozens of countries restricted vaccination programs to combat the pandemic.
The head of the global polio organization told AFP in early April that the new coronavirus had dealt an unprecedented blow to mass immunization campaigns, risking a resurgence of the disease.
