{"id":268581,"date":"2023-05-08T07:15:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T07:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=268581"},"modified":"2023-05-10T06:57:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T06:57:33","slug":"the-big-catch-up-chelsea-clinton-partners-with-who-gates-foundation-on-largest-childhood-immunization-effort-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=268581","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Big Catch-up\u2019: Chelsea Clinton Partners With WHO, Gates Foundation on \u2018Largest Childhood Immunization Effort Ever\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Nevradakis \u2013 Children\u2019s Health Defense May 5, 2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Warning that the world is less prepared for the next pandemic than it was prior to the spread of COVID-19, Chelsea Clinton \u2014 via the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) \u2014 along with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched an initiative called \u201cThe Big Catch-up<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Big Catch-up\u201d will last 18 months and, according to Clinton, aims to become \u201cthe largest childhood immunization effort ever<\/a>,\u201d Fortune reported.<\/p>\n

Clinton, who serves as vice chair of CHAI, last week presented the initiative at Fortune\u2019s Brainstorm Health Conference<\/a> in Marina del Rey, California.<\/p>\n

One day earlier, under the auspices of World Immunization Week<\/a>, the WHO introduced \u201cThe Big Catch-up,\u201d describing it as a \u201ctargeted global effort to boost vaccination among children<\/a> following declines driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the WHO:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis effort aims to reverse the declines in childhood vaccination recorded in over 100 countries since the pandemic, due to overburdened health services, closed clinics, and disrupted imports and exports of vials, syringes and other medical supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, lockdowns led to restricted travel, which limited access to healthcare and other services, and in many cases, families suffered financial hardship, the WHO said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOngoing challenges like conflicts, climate crises and vaccine hesitancy<\/a> also contributed to the decline in coverage rates,\u201d according to the WHO, which said the new initiative will act as \u201can extended effort to lift vaccination levels among children to at least pre-pandemic levels and endeavours to exceed those.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 25 million children missed at least one vaccination in 2021 alone, leading to \u201coutbreaks of preventable diseases, including measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever,\u201d the WHO said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Big Catch-up\u201d will focus on the 20 countries \u2014 all in Africa, Asia and Central and South America \u2014 where three-quarters of the children who missed vaccinations in 2021 live.<\/p>\n

According to Fortune, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC), less than 70% of children in the U.S. under age 2 were considered \u201cfully vaccinated\u201d \u2014 defined as \u201chaving received a full set of shots for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, and other diseases common before the vaccine era\u201d \u2014 during 2020-2021.<\/p>\n

The CDC data also show that only 10% of children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose as of Dec. 31, 2022.<\/p>\n

During her presentation at Fortune\u2019s Brainstorm Health Conference, Clinton described the rise in \u201cvaccine hesitancy\u201d and growing rejection of vaccines as \u201cunfortunate,\u201d adding that she had \u201ctempered\u201d her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should die of polio, measles, or pneumonia \u2014 including in this country, where we also need people to vaccinate their kids,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Big Catch-up\u201d also aims to promote other vaccines that are not part of childhood immunization schedules.<\/p>\n

According to the WHO:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to catching-up on childhood immunization, intensified efforts are needed to introduce the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to adolescents to prevent cervical cancer<\/a>, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where the burden is highest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from the WHO, CHAI, UNICEF and the Gates Foundation, other partners involved with \u201cThe Big Catch-up\u201d include Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Immunization Agenda 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the initiative, Chris Elias, M.D., MPH<\/a>, president of global development at the Gates Foundation, said \u201cVaccines are a public health triumph,\u201d adding that \u201cWe must double down to reach all children with the vaccines they need to live healthier lives and ensure that future generations live free of preventable diseases like polio<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elias participated in a March 2021 simulation of a global monkeypox outbreak<\/a> that hypothetically would occur in May 2022 \u2014 which turned out to be the month that a global outbreak of monkeypox actually began.<\/p>\n

Other participants in the simulation included Dr. Margaret Hamburg<\/a>, a former FDA commissioner on the board of Gavi<\/a>, and George Fu Gao, Ph.D.<\/a>, former director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who is a member of the WHO\u2019s One Health High-Level Expert Panel<\/a> that aims to promote the concept of \u201cOne Health<\/a>\u201d globally.<\/p>\n

Dr. Seth Berkley<\/a>, CEO of Gavi, also commented on \u201cThe Big Catch-up\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot allow a legacy of the pandemic to be the undoing of many years\u2019 work protecting more and more children from deadly, preventable diseases. Global health partners, working with governments and communities, must do everything we can to protect the life of every child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkley, who formerly was affiliated with the CDC and the Rockefeller Foundation<\/a>, has previously praised efforts to combat \u201cmisinformation\u201d<\/a> on the internet and the WHO\u2019s decision to extend the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency<\/a> of International Concern.<\/p>\n

The Gates Foundation, Gavi, UNICEF, the WHO and the Rockefeller Foundation are interconnected in a number of ways.<\/p>\n

Gavi says<\/a> it \u201chelps vaccinate almost half the world\u2019s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases.\u201d It was established in 1999, with the Gates Foundation as one of its co-founders and one of its four permanent board members. Gavi maintains a core partnership<\/a> with the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Gates Foundation is particularly active in relation to malaria, issuing grants to firms conducting research involving genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes<\/a>, and is connected to research studying a potential malaria vaccine using GM mosquitoes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Rockefeller Foundation also is a partner and board member<\/a> \u2014 and donor<\/a> \u2014 to Gavi.<\/p>\n

In turn, CHAI<\/a>, founded in 2002 and \u201ccommitted to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and-middle-income countries,\u201d says it works \u201cwith partners to prevent and treat malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and cancer [and] accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such partners include the Gates Foundation, with which it has collaborated on several projects dating back to 2011, as stated in CHAI\u2019s most recent annual report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four pages in CHAI\u2019s 2021 annual report are dedicated exclusively to vaccines, describing immunization as \u201ca powerful tool for saving lives and improving health outcomes globally,\u201d whilst outlining its activities in several countries.<\/p>\n

For example, the report states that \u201cIn 2021, we worked with Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda to improve DTP3 [diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus] immunization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinton also has a long history of collaborating with the WHO and has been active in the promotion of vaccines even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by the following 2018 tweet:<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s World Immunization Week! Vaccinations save 2-3 million lives every year by protecting against these diseases and more. #VaccinesWork<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/JIlLo51Pgu<\/a><\/p>\n

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) April 23, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n