The World Health Organization and the UNICEF yesterday reported an uptick in preventable diseases after childhood vaccinations fell by the wayside during the pandemic. As of this month, 57 preventative vaccination campaigns across 43 countries that were supposed to take place since the start of 2020 remain postponed, impacting some 203 million people, the UN agencies said. And as the world starts to open up again, they said the vacuum has created a “perfect storm” for diseases like measles and whooping cough. Global measles cases are so far up nearly 80% in 2022 compared with 2021. Here in Oz, experts are urging Aussies to get a flu jab, warning the country faces a “significant flu epidemic” as we head towards winter. The pandemic all but wiped out the flu thanks to all the mask-wearing, handwashing, social distancing and staying local, but it’s returned with the lifting of COVID restrictions.