epidemic The global rate of vaccination coverage for the first dose is thus at its lowest since 2008
A nurse administers a vaccination to a child at the Mount-Vernon, Ohio, facility on Friday, May 17, 2019. — Paul Vernon/AP/SIPA
Covid-19 continues to have repercussions around the world. Vaccination against measles, a life-threatening disease, has been in decline worldwide since the pandemic, putting tens of millions of children at risk, the report warned. a global report published Wednesday. “For three years, we have been sounding the alarm about declining vaccination rates, and increased health risk. children in the world,” in a press release Ephrem Tekle Lemango, in charge of vaccination programs at; UNICEF. “We have a tight window of opportunity to regain lost ground,” he warned. Because of Covid-19, “immunization programs have been seriously undermined. affected, pointed out Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk. risk faced with; a preventable disease.”
In 2021, some 40 million children missed out on a dose of measles vaccine – the first dose for 25 million of them, and the second for 14.7 million –, according to this joint report from WHO and US Centers Prevention and Control (CDC). The global vaccination coverage rate for the first dose is thus at its lowest since 2008. Among the countries with the highest number of unimmunized children are Nigeria, India, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Measles, a highly contagious viral infection for which there is no treatment once infected, takes its name from the red patches it causes on the body, including high fevers and possible complications pulmonary. A very high vaccination coverage is necessary in order to achieve immunity. collective. The report estimates at 9 million the number of cases worldwide in 2021, including 128,000 deaths. A total of 22 countries experienced significant epidemics in the past year, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
The number of infections has fallen; dramatically since the 2000s, but the number of estimated cases and deaths was higher in 2021 than in 2020, according to this work. In April, the WHO warned that reported cases of measles had skyrocketed. by almost 80% in the first two months of 2022, compared to last year. the same period the previous year. “There is no time to lose, we need to work urgently to make sure these lifesaving vaccines get through. every child,” Elizabeth Cousens, President of the United Nations Foundation.