Unfortunately, as is common with most diseases, low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden of measles cases, and this is no coincidence as it is these countries whose systems health professionals have been more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Large, and the slowest recovery speed.
In 2022, 33 million children will still not be adequately protected against measles: 22 million children have not received even the first dose, and a further 11 million have not received the second dose, bringing global first-dose vaccine coverage to 83%, well below the 95% coverage necessary to provide effective protection against an outbreak.
Let us tell you that on Monday, November 27th, we will be discussing the topic of vaccines on the podcast Sphere code F, You can access it in the PODCAST section of this magazine, which we recommend you listen to.
Low-income countries with the highest risk of measles deaths are those with the lowest vaccination rates at 66%, a rate that shows no signs of recovery after setbacks during the pandemic. In 2022, more than half of the 22 million children who have not yet received their first dose of measles vaccine live in 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, Ethiopia, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Democratic Republic of Congo.