When the world rushed to develop a corona vaccine, tens of millions of children did not get the measles vaccine. This is a bad setback for efforts to get rid of one of the most contagious diseases.
The World Health Organization WHO fears that measles will start to spread in different parts of the world, because its control was neglected during the corona pandemic.
A record 40 million children were left without measles vaccination last year due to the obstacles caused by the corona pandemic, according to WHO and the US health authority in their study.
At the same time that the world was developing corona vaccines at a record pace, many routine vaccination programs suffered.
Every fifth child missed the first vaccine dose and 29 percent missed the second vaccine. Regarding the first vaccine dose, the figure is the lowest since 2008.
The most vaccinations were missed in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Measles can be almost completely prevented by vaccination. However, since the disease is one of the most contagious in the world, the vaccination coverage of the population in the region should be 95 percent in order to achieve herd protection against it.
No progress in disease cases yet
Measles cases have not yet increased significantly. The reasons may be keeping a distance from other people during the corona pandemic and the fact that measles occurs in cycles.
However, this can change quickly, so now is the time to act, says the WHO representative Patrick O’Connor.
None of the world’s regions have managed to completely get rid of measles. In the past six years, measles infections have appeared in 10 countries where it was previously eliminated.
Measles symptoms (you switch to another service) are high fever, respiratory symptoms, photophobia and rash. The sequelae can be, for example, pneumonia or, more rarely, encephalitis, which can lead to disability. 1-3 out of a thousand people die from measles.
Sources: AFP, Reuters