The recent report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) confirming that over one million children in the Philippines missed out their routine vaccine shots in 2021 is a bit concerning, to say the least. UNICEF estimates that globally, 67 million children “missed out entirely or partially on routine immunization” between 2019 and 2021. These are vaccines against polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, among others, said UNICEF Philippines Immunization Specialist Dr. Carla Orozco in a media forum on April 25. If the local statistics are appalling, try perusing the numbers on the global scale. In  2021 alone, at least 18 million children globally have not received a single dose of routine vaccines or the so-called “zero-dose children” and the Philippines ranked fifth globally with regards to this matter. India registered the highest number of zero-dose children with 2,711,000 followed by Nigeria with 2,247,000; Indonesia with 1,150,000; Ethiopia with 1,134,000 and the Philippines with 1,048,000.  In Southeast Asia, neighbors Indonesia and the Philippines lead the list of laggards in this public health compliance. Zero-dose children are those who have not received a single dose of vaccine by the time these kids reach one year old.  Experts believe – and with good reason – that the infant’s first year of existence in the world is the most important, for this will be the foundation of the child’s wellbeing.  It was noted in various studies that most of the zero-dose children live in marginalized communities or in communities considered “vulnerable to outbreaks,” and often have no access to regular health services. Nutrition plays a strong part in ensuring the infant’s early development, and it has been well established that mother’s milk is the best food a baby can imbibe.  Good nutrition, however, should be supplemented by the above-mentioned prime vaccines which have been developed by scientists and physicians in the past decades to save the lives of children and give them a more-than-average fighting chance to survive. Data gathered by UNICEF showed that the top five regions in the country with the most zero-dose children are Calabarzon (146,160), Central Luzon (99,541), Western Visayas (96,774), Bicol (80,905) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (75,671). These numbers should guide the Department of Health (DOH) in prepositioning its manpower and resources to areas with the greater risk of disease outbreaks, such as measles.  For instance, in the 2022 measles risk assessment, it was determined that the whole country was ripe for an outbreak, and so UNICEF Philippines, the DOH and the World Health Organization (WHO) immediately cooperated to launch supplemental immunization activities nationwide. The problems in this immunization drive is that many children start taking the vaccines but fail or refuse to continue their schedule; others have not really started for religious, cultural and other reasons.  There was also misinformation, ideas that vaccines are not important, fear of possible side effects, and vaccine hesitancy. In this regard, the local officials in towns and cities should act and take on the responsibility. Remember that vaccine-preventable diseases affect children's physical and cognitive development and prevent them from becoming healthy, productive citizens.  It is to the nation's advantage that all Filipino children are given a safe and healthy head start.