Measles poses imminent threat as vaccination rates fall, WHO says

Nearly 40 million children missed measles vaccine doses last year, the World Health Organization said in a report released on Wednesday, calling the situation a “major setback in global progress towards achieving and sustaining measles elimination.” Photo by Yurko Dyachyshyn/UNICEF

Millions of children around the world are now vulnerable to the virus Acute viral respiratory disease.

Coverage has steadily declined since the beginning of the year Coronavirus disease Surveillance for the disease has been weakened in many areas, according to the World Health Organization. Vaccination programs have also been repeatedly disrupted as health officials prioritize COVID-19.

There are an estimated 9 million measles cases and 128,000 measles deaths worldwide in 2021, with 22 countries experiencing “larger and devastating” outbreaks. Continued large outbreaks this year mean measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.

“The paradox of the pandemic is that while a vaccine against COVID-19 was developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs have been severely disrupted, with countless Millions of children miss out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

“Getting immunization programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of preventable disease.”

Measles, one of the most contagious human viruses known to man, can only be prevented with two doses of the vaccine. Herd immunity can only be achieved with vaccination coverage of 95% or higher.

Globally, only 81% of children received their first dose of the vaccine, and only 71% received their second and final dose. According to the World Health Organization, this marks the lowest average global first-dose coverage since 2008.

Since 2016, outbreaks have occurred in 10 previously measles-free countries.

“The record number of underimmunized and vulnerable children to measles shows that the immune system has been severely compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Valensky said in a statement.

“Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization programs, but public health officials can use outbreak response to identify at-risk communities, understand why vaccinations are under-vaccinated, and help provide context-specific solutions to ensure everyone is vaccinated. “