Pakistan among 10 countries where children missed first measles vaccine

• Cases increase by 18%, deaths by 43% in 2022.
• 37 countries experienced major measles outbreaks.
• The outbreaks are mostly seen in children, the WHO says.

Islamabad: Pakistan is among the 10 low- and middle-income countries where 22 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year. The news reported on Friday.

Measles cases increased by 18% and deaths by 43% in 2022 compared to the previous year, bringing the total number of cases to 9 million and deaths to 136,000, mostly among children.

This was published in a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Measles continues to be an inexorably growing threat to children. In 2022, up to 37 countries experienced major or troublesome measles outbreaks compared to 22 countries in 2021. Of the countries with outbreaks, 28 were in the WHO region for Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in South-East Asia and one in the European Region.

“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is shocking, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the decline in vaccination rates we’ve seen in recent years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Division of Global Immunization.

“Measles outbreaks anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”

Measles can be prevented with two doses of vaccine, however, about 33 million children missed a dose of measles vaccine in 2022 — nearly 22 million missed the first dose and 11 million missed the second dose.

The global rate of vaccine coverage of the first dose at 83% and the second dose at 74% was still well below the 95% coverage with two doses necessary to protect communities from outbreaks.

Low-income countries, where the risk of death from measles is highest, continue to have the lowest vaccination rates at just 66%. Half of the children who missed their first dose are from 10 countries, including Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Philippines.

“The lack of recovery in measles vaccine coverage in low-income countries after the pandemic is a wake-up call for action. Measles is the disease that strikes the unprotected,” said Kate O’Brien, Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologics at WHO.

CDC and WHO urge countries to vaccinate all children against measles as well as other vaccine-preventable diseases and encourage global stakeholders to help countries vaccinate their most vulnerable communities.