Highlighting the urgency of the situation, a senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the critical need to vaccinate children who missed their measles shots during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Kate O’Brien, WHO’s director of immunization, underscored the increasing outbreaks of measles worldwide, stressing the importance of addressing this infectious disease promptly.
O’Brien revealed alarming statistics, stating that over 50 countries have faced significant and disruptive measles outbreaks in the past year alone, a figure twice as high as in 2022. Measles, a highly contagious viral illness, manifests with flu-like symptoms and a characteristic rash, posing serious health risks, including fatality, although it is preventable with two doses of vaccine.
The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted routine vaccination efforts globally, resulting in approximately 60 million children missing their vaccine doses during this period, O’Brien noted. Consequently, she emphasized the critical nature of catch-up vaccination efforts, describing them as pivotal in curbing the escalation of outbreaks.
Expressing concern, O’Brien framed the situation as a race between the rapid implementation of catch-up vaccination activities and the ongoing spread of measles outbreaks.
Echoing this sentiment, on Monday, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also urged individuals to ensure vaccination against measles, given the rising number of cases worldwide.
In addition to measles, WHO experts advocated for innovative strategies involving existing vaccines to combat various disease outbreaks. They recommended the utilization of Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine to protect at-risk children in African nations. Furthermore, they proposed administering the hepatitis E vaccine to all women of childbearing age in conflict zones and other emergency settings. Hepatitis E, primarily transmitted through contaminated water, poses particular risks to pregnant women.
Despite WHO’s endorsement of the hepatitis E vaccine for outbreak use since 2015, its widespread adoption outside China, where it was developed by Xiamen Innovax Biotech, remains limited.
Addressing the growing prevalence of outbreaks, Hanna Nohynek, chair of WHO’s expert vaccine committee, emphasized the concerning trend towards a new normal characterized by living with outbreaks, underscoring the need for concerted global action.
