A major measles outbreak is likely to occur during 2021 as many children have missed out on measles vaccination amid Covid-19 pandemic, researchers have raised concerns.
They have suggested “three pillars” of action — helping countries vaccinate their children through catch-up and campaigns; countries need to prepare for expected outbreaks and maintaining measles and rubella elimination targets provided by WHO’s new Measles Rubella Strategic Framework 2021-2030 in alignment with the Immunization Agenda 2030 — to address the concerning situation.
In their article published in the Lancet, the researchers including lead author Professor Kim Mulholland, from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Chair of the WHO’s SAGE Working Group on measles and rubella vaccines, said many children have missed out on measles vaccination this year, making future measles outbreaks inevitable.
Professor Mulholland said while 2020 had been a quiet year for measles, in part due to travel reductions and national Covid-19 control measures, the economic impacts would lead to many cases of childhood malnutrition.
The study mentioned that the WHO estimates that by the end of October 2020, delayed vaccination campaigns in 26 countries have led to 94 million children missing scheduled measles vaccine doses.
“The inadequate vaccination that led to the 2019 measles outbreaks has still not been adequately addressed, and the situation is now exacerbated by service disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic so that high-risk, unimmunised children are clustered together in unreached communities,” Professor Mulholland added.
Just a few days ago, Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director had noted that before there was a coronavirus crisis, the world was grappling with a measles crisis, and it has not gone away.
“While health systems are strained by the Covid-19 pandemic, we must not allow our fight against one deadly disease to come at the expense of our fight against another.
This means ensuring we have the resources to continue immunisation campaigns for all vaccine-preventable diseases, even as we address the growing Covid-19 pandemic,” Fore said.