«Over the last three years, more than 1.8 million children in the WHO European Region have not been able to be vaccinated against measles. The consequence of this is a 60-fold increase in the number of measles cases in 2023 compared to 2022."
This is what we read in a joint statement from the European Commission, the World Health Organization and Unicef on the occasion of European Immunization Week 2024 (21-27 April).
“Our determination to guarantee the benefits of vaccination to everyone, everywhere must not waver,” continue the three international institutions.
«Together, we will continue to raise awareness of the benefits of vaccination and increase confidence in vaccines to support public demand for vaccines, now and in the future . At the same time, we continue to help ensure that health systems are adequately prepared for any epidemic and future pandemics,” concludes the joint note.
According to the latest data released by the ECDC (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control) , between March 2023 and February 2024, 5,770 cases of measles and at least 5 deaths due to the infectious disease were recorded in Europe. But there is also alarm for whooping cough: in the same period there was in fact a 10-fold increase in cases of whooping cough compared to the previous two years.
“It is disheartening to see that, despite decades of well-documented progress in vaccine safety and efficacy, EU and EEA countries and globally are still dealing with outbreaks of several vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said in a statement. the director of the ECDC Andrea Ammon. “Vaccines have protected many generations and we should ensure they continue to do so,” Ammon stressed.
The European agency recalled that those at greatest risk, both for measles and whooping cough, are children younger than one year who are still too young to be completely protected by the vaccine. In the case of measles, the role of herd immunity is essential.
“Measles spreads very easily, therefore, a high vaccination coverage of at least 95% of the population vaccinated with two doses is essential to interrupt transmission,” explains the ECDC.
