43% increase in global measles deaths in 2021 – 2022 due to declining vaccination coverage.
A new study by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “Measles deaths worldwide will increase by 43% from 2021-2022 as vaccination uptake declines.
In 2021, 22 countries reported a decrease in vaccination coverage, and in 2022, 37 countries reported a decrease in the number of deaths. Out of the 37 countries, 28 countries belong to Africa, 6 countries belong to the Eastern Mediterranean region, 2 countries belong to Southeast Asia and one country belongs to Europe. This is due to the very low uptake of measles vaccination in these countries,” it said.
“The increase in measles and the increase in deaths is shocking and the decline in vaccination rates in these countries is unexpected. Urgent action on targets is critical to prevent measles morbidity and mortality,” said John Verdefeuille, director of CDC’s Division of Global Disease Prevention.
About 2.2 crore people missed the first dose and 1.1 crore missed the second dose, the report said. The World Health Organization has stated that the global vaccination coverage rate for the first dose is 83% and the second dose coverage rate is 74%, and that people can be protected from the disease by having both doses.
The risk of dying from measles is highest in low-income countries, where the vaccinatioen rate is only 66%, the report said. More than half of the 2.2 million children who will miss their first dose of measles vaccine in 2022 live in 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines, the report said.
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