Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccination against measles has dropped drastically. A situation that endangers tens of millions of children.
The countries most affected
The situation worries the world authorities. Tens of millions of children are at risk from declining vaccination against the measles. This is the result of a global report published on Wednesday. Among the countries with the highest number of unimmunized children are Nigeria, India, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Indonesia are the countries with the most unimmunized children against this disease potentially fatal. “For three years, we have been sounding the alarm about declining vaccination rates, and the increased health risk to children around the world”said in a press release Ephrem Tekle Lemango, in charge of vaccination programs at Unicef. “We have a tight shooting window to regain lost ground”he warned about the comments relayed by Le Figaro.
Nine million cases in 2021
The Covid-19 epidemic has had a considerable impact on immunization programs, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the joint report by WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some 40 million children have missed a dose of measles vaccine in 2021. The first dose for 25 million of them, and the second for 14.7 million, details the document. Still according to the report, 9 million people have caught the measlesa highly contagious viral infection, in 2021 worldwide, including 128,000 deaths.
The measles who does not have treatment once infected is manifested by high fevers and possible pulmonary complications. Only a very high vaccination coverage can achieve collective immunity. “There is no time to lose, we must work urgently to ensure these lifesaving vaccines reach every child”said Elizabeth Cousens, President of the United Nations Foundation.
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