Measles cases will increase by 79% worldwide by 2022

According to WHO and UNICEF, the pandemic has delayed the vaccination of children and created the “perfect storm for measles.”

As parents delay vaccinating their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Measles cases have risen 79 percent worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) also the United Nations International Emergency Relief Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday.

According to health officials, there have been 21 “major and devastating” measles outbreaks this year. Mainly in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. So far, 17,338 cases of measles have been reported worldwide in January and February. Compared with 9,665 for the same period in 2021.

“Pandemic-related disruptions, rising inequalities in access to vaccines. And diversion of resources away from routine immunization leave too many children vulnerable to measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” the organization said. And with most countries removing COVID precautions such as mandatory masks as measles spreads, conditions are “ripe” of severe outbreaks.

“It is encouraging that all public in many communities are starting to feel protected enough from COVID-19 to return to more social programs. But doing so in some area where children are not getting routine vaccinations creates the perfect storm for the spread of measles. Said Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF.

Measles, a respiratory virus, can be fatal in young children but is highly preventable with a two-dose vaccine introduced in 1963. However, without a vaccine, it spreads rapidly and can weaken a child’s immune system. Making them more susceptible to other diseases, such as pneumonia.

The outbreak is a sign that children worldwide are not being vaccinated, Russell said.

“Measles is more than a dangerous and potentially deadly disease. It is also an early sign that there is a gap in our global immunization coverage, a hole that vulnerable children cannot reach.