The World Health Organization has announced that 40 million children are at risk of contracting measles after declining measles vaccination coverage since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A joint report released by the WHO Centers for Disease Control and the US Centers for Disease Control found that 40 million children did not receive a dose of measles vaccine, 25 million children did not receive their first dose, and 14.7 million children did not receive their second dose, which represents represents a severe setback in global progress towards measles elimination, with declining vaccination rates, reduced measles surveillance, and continued interruptions and delays in immunization activities.
The report states that last year 2021 AD, there were 9 million cases of tuberculosis, 128 thousand deaths, and a devastating and widespread outbreak in 22 countries in all regions.
World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom described the situation as dangerous as measles is one of the most contagious viruses to humans and can be prevented through vaccination, highlighting the need for vaccination coverage of the two movements to be 95% or more. To build herd immunity and protect communities.
He explained that only 81% of children receive the first dose of the vaccine, while 71% receive the second dose, the lowest level of measles vaccination since 2008.
Tedros Adhanom stressed the need and importance of resuming immunization programs, vaccinating all children against measles, and investing in enhanced disease surveillance as a means of quickly identifying an outbreak.
