evidence: The World Health Organization today called for focused efforts to provide lifesaving childhood vaccines to the nearly 4.6 million children reported as unvaccinated or zero dose in 2021, as countries intensify efforts to equal or surpass pre-COVID-19 pandemic vaccination coverage levels. "The number of unvaccinated children more than doubled from 2 million in 2019 to 4.6 million in the Region by 2021 despite efforts by countries to maintain or restore routine childhood immunization. We need to urgently address gaps and challenges aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia. [...] "We need to accurately identify high-risk areas with high numbers of zero-dose children, and rapidly improve access and uptake of routine immunization," Dr Khetrapal Singh said.