Beyond measuring coverage: how timeliness could transform routine childhood vaccination programmes
Abstract
Since the establishment of the WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974, substantial progress has been made. Between 1980 and 2023, coverage of the original EPI vaccines (BCG; diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis [DTP]; oral polio; and measles vaccines) nearly doubled.1 By 2024, coverage of the third dose of the DTP (DTP3) vaccine, the standard benchmark for immunisation system performance, had been administered to 85% of infants worldwide.2 Coverage of the first dose of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) reached 84% in the same year.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Influenza Virus Research Studies
Immune responses and vaccinations
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Lancet Global Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e673–e674
- Publication date
- 23 April 2026
- Language
- EN