Around the world, COVID-19 is having a devastating effect on all health services, and in particular on vaccination against measles and poliomyelitis.
- To prevent the return of measles and polio, WHO and UNICEF are “urgently calling for global action from country leaders, donors and partners”.
- Without vaccination, measles and polio are deadly diseases.
UNICEF and WHO are calling for urgent action to prevent the return of serious outbreaks of measles and poliomyelitis. “As COVID-19 disrupts immunizations, urgent action is needed to protect the most vulnerable children from deadly and disabling diseases,” alert health agencies.
deadly diseases
COVID-19 continues to disrupt immunization services around the world, leaving millions of vulnerable children at increased risk of preventable childhood illnesses. The two organizations estimate that 655 million US dollars (400 million for polio and 255 million for measles) are needed to close the dangerous immunity gaps.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on health services, and in particular immunization services, around the world,” explained Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. “But unlike COVID, we have the tools and knowledge to stop diseases like polio and measles. What we need are the resources and commitments to implement those tools and knowledge. If we do this, children’s lives will be saved”, he adds.
“We cannot allow the fight against a deadly disease to cause us to lose ground in the fight against other diseases”, said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF. “Tackling the global COVID-19 pandemic is essential. However, other deadly diseases are also threatening the lives of millions of children, in some of the poorest regions of the world. That is why, today we urgently call for global action from country leaders, donors and partners,” she continues.
Resurgence of measles in Europe and France
In recent years, there has been a global resurgence of measles with outbreaks in all regions of the world, including Europe and France. In 2019, measles reached the highest number of new infections in more than two decades.
At the same time, poliovirus transmission is expected to increase in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as in many underimmunized areas of Africa. If polio is not eradicated now, the disease will reappear worldwide and could cause up to 200,000 new cases per year in the next ten years.
In France, “the very sharp decrease in the delivery of products requiring administration by a healthcare professional, already reported during and on leaving confinement, continued until September”, alerted the ANSM recently. This decrease concerns in particular vaccines: penta/hexavalent vaccines for infants (-40,000 doses), anti-HPV vaccines (-150,000 doses), vaccines for children measles-mumps-rubella (MMR, -130,000 doses) and tetanus vaccines (-620,000 doses).
As a reminder, MMR vaccination is compulsory for children born from January 1, 2018. Babies must receive 2 doses of vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella. The first dose is given at 12 months, and the second dose between 16 and 18 months.
.
