A resident (right) talks with municipal workers during a survey inside a slum following a measles outbreak that killed 10 children, in Mumbai on November 23, 2022. – AFP photo
According to a new report on Wednesday, nearly 40 million children worldwide will miss a dose of the measles vaccine in 2021, which found vaccination levels have failed to recover from disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic.
The research, which was published jointly by the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the decline was a major setback in eradicating the deadly disease.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the irony in the fact that while vaccines against Covid were developed and deployed in record time, routine vaccination programs were severely affected, putting millions of people at risk.
‘Getting vaccination programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of preventable disease, he said in a statement.
According to the report, 2.5 crore children missed the first dose, while 1.47 crore children missed the second dose.
Measles is almost completely preventable through vaccination.
But because it is so contagious, an estimated 95 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated with two or more doses to create herd immunity to achieve and maintain eradication.
In 2021, only 81 percent of children globally will receive their first dose and 71 percent will receive their second dose.
This was the lowest global coverage rate of the first dose since 2008.
The five countries with the highest number of infants who did not receive their first dose were Nigeria, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.
No World Health Organization region has achieved or maintained measles elimination, and the virus can spread rapidly across borders.
Since 2016, ten countries that had previously eliminated measles have experienced outbreaks and reestablished transmission.
Measles is characterized by a high fever and a telltale rash – although what makes it so dangerous is that it can be contagious for days before the rash appears.
Complications can include pneumonia and swelling of the brain, which can lead to permanent disability.
1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children die from respiratory and neurological complications.