Measles could see a deadly comeback after pandemic saw millions of children miss vaccines
A global threat in the form of a measles outbreak is mounting as more than 22 million infants missed their first vaccine dose for the disease in 2020, warned the world’s top health agencies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC), in a joint statement on Wednesday, said the number represents the largest increase in missed vaccinations in two decades.
The 22-million figure is three million more than in 2019, “creating dangerous conditions for outbreaks to occur,” according to the agencies.
The surveillance of measles cases deteriorated because of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in a reported dip in cases by more than 80%t in 2020, the statement said.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses to date. It kills more than 60,000 people a year, mostly young children. But at the same time, the disease is entirely preventable through vaccinations, which have averted more than 30 million deaths from the disease globally.
“Large numbers of unvaccinated children, outbreaks of measles, and disease detection and diagnostics diverted to support Covid-19 responses are factors that increase the likelihood of measles-related deaths and serious complications in children,” said Kevin Cain, the CDC’s global immunisation director.
Source: The Independent, 11 November 2021