Another deadly virus. As the world battles COVID-19, measles deaths soar and vaccinations fail

At the same time, measles deaths have doubled since 2016, although many consider it a harmless childhood disease. Last year, some 207,500 people died from him around the world.

To reliably stop the spread of the virus, 95% of the population must be vaccinated. The global mean vaccination rate for MCV1 is 85%, MCV2 – 71%.

“Science has long known how to prevent measles outbreaks. We need to work together to achieve a vaccine for all, “said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus.

In 2020, the measures to combat Covid-19, for all their importance, have slowed vaccination against other diseases.

Routine measles vaccinations for 94 million deferred people in 26 states because of quarantine and renewed in only eight of them (Brazil, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia).

“Covid-19, inherently dangerous, is also causing an increase in the incidence and death of measles, which knows no borders,” said Gail McGovern, president of the American Red Cross.

“The fight against one deadly disease should not be at the expense of another. It is imperative to continue immunization against all infections for which vaccines exist, “said Henriette Fore, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

“Although healthcare around the world is engulfed by Covid-19, the fight against other infections must not be weakened. Measles is 100% preventable, no one should die from it, ”said Seth Berkeley, head of the international organization Gavi, which vaccinates people in poor countries.

On November 6, WHO and UNICEF called on governments to take urgent action against the spread of measles and polio.

“The fight against Covid-19 is fundamental. But there are other deadly diseases that threaten millions of people in the poorest countries, ”the document states.

The specialized agencies of the United Nations are particularly concerned about the situation in Nigeria, the largest African country with a population of 200 million.

The measles vaccination rate is only 54%. In two southern states, Delta and Enugu, over 70 people have died in recent days from a yellow fever outbreak. In the neighboring state of Benu, 12 people died of an unidentified infection.

Covid-19 in Nigeria, according to probably incomplete data, fell ill with 64,366 people and 1,160 of them died.

“It is unthinkable that we are seeing the largest measles outbreak in a generation when we have a safe, affordable and proven vaccine. No child should die of a vaccine-preventable disease, ”says Elizabeth Cousins, president of the United Nations Foundation.

Difficulties also exist with vaccination against measles and some other diseases in developed countries. Not only because of poverty, e because of myths, prejudices and falsehoods.

The anti-vaccine movement has been around since vaccines themselves. In Great Britain, in 1772, Pastor Edmund Massy became famous for his sermons, which called vaccinations against smallpox a diabolical thing.

In recent years, it has been boosted by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who, in a 1998 article, claimed that combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines cause autism in children.

Although these articles were later refuted and Wakefield himself deprived of his medical license for scientific misconduct, the seeds he sowed sprouted.

The percentage of children vaccinated against measles in the UK dropped from 92% in 1996 to 84% in 2002 and in parts of London to 60%. As a result, six years later, it was officially recognized that measles had returned to Britain and the deaths have reappeared.

The same thing has happened in other countries that were thought to have long since gotten rid of measles and where Wakefield’s theory spread. In Ireland in 2000 one and a half thousand people fell ill, three of them died.

In France in 2008-2011 more than 22 thousand people fell ill with measles.

In December 2014, 125 people contracted measles in Disneyland California, after which the state of California passed legislation making vaccination of children mandatory.

In Russia, a measles outbreak occurred in 2018. The number of cases increased 3.5 times.

According to the Moscow Department of Health, among children not vaccinated against measles in the city, in almost 80% of cases, the reason was the fundamental rejection of parents.

According to polls, 22-27% of citizens regularly oppose vaccinations in Russia.