More than 20 million children worldwide are getting measles vaccinations every year

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This represents about 20 million children a year on average.

This gap in protection coverage has caused measles outbreaks worldwide, from high-income countries in the Americas and Europe to low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa.

As a result, in 2017, measles killed 110,000 people worldwide, mostly children., according to the report of UNICEF. That's 22% more than the year before.

"If we really want to prevent the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate all children in rich and poor countries," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore in a statement. press.

Are you protected from measles? It may depend on your date of birth

The analysis is based on the estimate of UNICEF and the World Health Organization's national immunization coverage of 194 countries for 2017.

The report says that lack of access to vaccines, failing health systems, complacency and fear of vaccines have all contributed to the problem.

"The resurgence of measles is a source of serious concern, with prolonged outbreaks in all regions, and particularly in countries that have reached or are about to eliminate measles," said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Executive Director of Programs at recent press release. "We risk losing decades of progress in protecting children and communities from this devastating but totally preventable disease."
Measles cases have increased by almost 300% compared to last year. It's a global crisis

Globally, coverage for the first dose of measles vaccine was 85% – well below the 95% needed to prevent epidemics and immunize communities against the disease. The global coverage for the second dose was even lower at only 67%.

In 2017, Nigeria had the highest number of children under 1 year old who missed their first dose of vaccine. India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Ethiopia followed. These five countries account for about half of all children in the world who missed their first dose, about 10.4 million children in total.

WHO recommends that the first dose be administered at 9 months of age in countries with high measles mortality. In countries where the risk of infection in infants is lower, as in the United States, the first dose is advisable at 12 months in most cases.
The measles outbreak in the United States is the largest since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000

The situation was better but remained problematic in high-income countries such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom. According to the most recent data, coverage for the first dose of vaccine was 94% and 91% for the second dose.

Among high-income countries, the United States is at the top of the list of unvaccinated children with the first dose.

Since this week, the number of measles cases in the United States has reached its highest since the disease was declared elimination in 2000. Experts attribute this increase to the misinformation about the virus and the vaccine that brought some parents to refuse to vaccinate their children. .

"The anti-vaccine lobby told parents that children were hurt by a vaccine or autism, and we know that none of these things are true," said Dr. Peter Hotez. professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. in Houston.

The UNICEF report noted that the global measles crisis continued until 2019. From January to March, preliminary estimates indicate that more than 100,000 cases of measles have been reported worldwide, an increase of 300% compared to the same period last year.

UNICEF said efforts were under way to address the situation, including providing more vaccines and helping countries identify unaffected children.

"Existing strategies need to change: more efforts are needed to increase routine immunization coverage and strengthen health systems," said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the Gavi Global Alliance for Immunization, in a statement. a press release from the WHO. "If not, we will continue to pursue an epidemic after another."

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