Global Coverage With Measles Vaccine Declined During COVID-19

MONDAY, Nov. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Global coverage with measles vaccination declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimated measles cases increased 20 percent worldwide from 2022 to 2023, according to research published in the Nov. 14 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Anna A. Minta, M.D., from the World Health Organization in Geneva, and colleagues describe progress toward measles elimination during 2000 to 2023.

The researchers note that an estimated 60.3 million measles deaths were averted by vaccination during 2000 to 2023. However, no region successfully achieved and maintained elimination by the end of 2023, despite commitment from all six World Health Organization regions to eliminate measles. Estimated global coverage with the first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) declined to 81 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the lowest level since 2008. In 2022, MCV1 coverage improved to 83 percent, but was unchanged in 2023. Estimated measles cases increased 20 percent worldwide from 2022 to 2023, from 8,645,000 to 10,341,000; there was an increase observed in the number of countries experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks, from 36 to 57. From 2022 to 2023, there was an 8 percent decrease seen in estimated measles deaths, mainly due to an increased number of cases occurring in countries with a lower risk for death.

“Countries and global partners working together is essential to accelerate efforts to reach and sustain measles elimination,” the authors write.

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