Vaccinating children who missed their measles measles vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic is extremely important, according to a senior official from the World Health Organization. This is because outbreaks of the contagious disease are increasing worldwide.
More than 50 countries have had “large and disruptive” measles outbreaks in the last year, which is twice as many as in 2022, as stated by Kate O’Brien, WHO director of immunization, at a virtual press conference.
Measles is a highly contagious viral sickness that causes symptoms similar to the flu and a rash. It can be deadly but can be prevented with two doses of vaccine.
Routine vaccination efforts worldwide were significantly disrupted by COVID-19, and around 60 million children missed their doses during that time, according to O’Brien.
She emphasized the importance of making up for the missed vaccinations.
“It’s now a race between whether the catch-up activities can happen quickly enough or whether the outbreaks will continue to scale,” she said.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also encouraged people to get
vaccinated against measles as cases rise globally.
They also suggested using the hepatitis E vaccine for all women of childbearing age in conflicts and other emergency settings, as well as using existing vaccines in new ways to address other disease outbreaks.
The vaccine, developed by China’s Xiamen Innovax Biotech, has been recommended by WHO for use in outbreaks since 2015, although it has not been widely used outside China.
The chair of the WHO’s expert vaccine committee, Hanna Nohynek, expressed concern during the press conference that the focus on outbreaks may indicate a new normal of living with outbreaks, which is alarming.
