Nov. 28, 2022 — Measles vaccinations have dropped sharply since the COVID pandemic, with about 25 million children missing their first dose of measles vaccine in 2021 and 14.7 million missing their second dose, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a joint report.
There were about 9 million measles cases that year and 128,000 deaths, with 22 nations reporting large outbreaks. Because of interruptions in vaccinations, “measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world,” the report said.
Global action is needed to prevent more outbreaks, the report said, noting that measles is a highly contagious virus but is almost entirely preventable through vaccination.
“The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Getting immunization programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”
The report said 95% of the world population needs to be vaccinated with two doses of measles vaccine to create herd immunity. Only 81% of the world has one dose and only 71% has two doses. These are the lowest global coverage rates for the first dose since 2008, the report said.
“The record number of children under-immunized and susceptible to measles shows the profound damage immunization systems have sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky. “Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization programs, but public health officials can use outbreak response to identify communities at risk, understand causes of under-vaccination, and help deliver locally tailored solutions to ensure vaccinations are available to all.”
