Largest increase in children missing measles vaccine in 20 years

A health worker preparing to administer a measles vaccine. Photo by: Bizuwerk / UNICEF Ethiopia / CC BY-NC-ND

Last year saw the largest increase of children missing the measles vaccine in 20 years.

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A report from the World Health Organization and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found over 22 million children missed the first dose of measles vaccine last year, which is 3 million more than the previous year. Additionally, only 70% of children received second doses of the vaccine, whereas the goal is to hit 95% to prevent the spread of the disease. Last year, 23 countries postponed measles vaccination campaigns because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Even before the pandemic, we were seeing how even small pockets of low measles immunization coverage could fuel unprecedented outbreaks, including in countries where the disease had been considered eradicated. And now, COVID-19 is creating widening gaps in coverage at a pace we haven’t seen in decades,” said Ephrem Tekle Lemango, associate director for immunization at UNICEF, in a press release.

The highly contagious disease, which can lead to disability and death, is almost completely preventable with vaccines.

Calm before the storm: Prior to the pandemic, the world saw an uptick in cases. Reported measles cases hit their highest levels in 23 years in 2019 — reaching nearly 870,000 cases. Deaths from the disease increased 50% between 2016 and 2019.

While measles cases, in general, have declined last year by 80% over the previous year — there were still outbreaks in 26 countries.

“While reported measles cases dropped in 2020, evidence suggests we are likely seeing the calm before the storm as the risk of outbreaks continues to grow around the world,” said Dr. Kate O’Brien, director of the department of immunization, vaccines, and biologicals at WHO.

Surveillance suffering: The organizations also said surveillance efforts are declining. WHO’s Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network received the lowest number of samples sent to laboratories in a decade last year — 122,517 specimens.