Measles could see a deadly comeback after pandemic saw millions of children miss vaccines

A global threat in the form of a measles outbreak is mounting as more than 22 million infants missed their first vaccine dose for the disease in 2020, warned the world’s top health agencies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC), in a joint statement on Wednesday, said the number represents the largest increase in missed vaccinations in two decades.

The 22-million figure is three million more than in 2019, “creating dangerous conditions for outbreaks to occur,” according to the agencies.

The surveillance of measles cases deteriorated because of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in a reported dip in cases by more than 80 per cent in 2020, the statement said.

Specimens sent for testing measles in laboratories also reached its lowest number in over a decade.

The health agencies noted that only 70 per cent of the children received their second jab of the measles vaccine last year, short of the ideal 95 per cent to prevent the risk of an outbreak.

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses to date. It kills more than 60,000 people a year, mostly young children.

But at the same time, the disease is entirely preventable through vaccinations, which have averted more than 30 million deaths from the disease globally.

“Large numbers of unvaccinated children, outbreaks of measles, and disease detection and diagnostics diverted to support Covid-19 responses are factors that increase the likelihood of measles-related deaths and serious complications in children,” said Kevin Cain, the CDC’s global immunisation director.

He urged for an increased disease surveillance system to prevent­­ deadly measles outbreaks.

Calling the dip in reported measles cases in 2020 a “calm before the storm”, Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO’s department of immunisation said the risk of outbreak has increased globally.

“It’s critical that countries vaccinate as quickly as possible against Covid, but this requires new resources so that it does not come at the cost of essential immunisation programmes,” she said.

“Routine immunisation must be protected and strengthened; otherwise, we risk trading one deadly disease for another.”

While the pandemic led to significant disruptions in immunisations and its reporting, measures to prevent the spread of Covid – masking, handwashing and distancing– also helped in reducing the spread of measles.

Ephrem Tekle Lemango, Unicef’s associate director for immunisation, said that even before the pandemic, they had identified small pockets of low measles immunisation coverage, capable of fuelling “unprecedented outbreaks.”

“And now, Covid is creating widening gaps in coverage at a pace we haven’t seen in decades. While we have not seen an increase in cases yet, measles is simply too contagious,” he said.

“If we do not act, gaps will become outbreaks, and many children will be exposed to a preventable but potentially deadly disease,” he added.