Maggie Maybe<p>December 27, 2024<br>Global Measles Cases Rose 20% in 1 Year as Vaccine Coverage Fell Short<br>Measles cases worldwide rose by 20% in a single year—from about 8.6 million in 2022 to 10.3 million in 2023, which the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attributed to insufficient immunization coverage.</p><p>In a joint report, the 2 agencies also noted that first-dose measles-containing vaccine coverage dropped from 86% in 2019 to 81% in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lowest reported level since 2008. In both 2022 and 2023, only an estimated 83% of individuals had received the first dose of the vaccine.<br>Large or disruptive measles outbreaks affected 57 countries in 2023, spanning all regions except the Americas—an increase from 36 countries the previous year. Meanwhile, measles deaths decreased 8%, from about 117 000 in 2022 to 108 000 in 2023, likely because more cases occurred in countries with low risk of death.<br>Communities should aim for at least 95% coverage with 2 vaccine doses to prevent outbreaks, the <a href="https://zeroes.ca/tags/WHO" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WHO</span></a> and <a href="https://zeroes.ca/tags/CDC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CDC</span></a> stated, but low-income nations and those experiencing conflict are less likely to achieve this goal.<br><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2828683" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/</span><span class="invisible">fullarticle/2828683</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://zeroes.ca/tags/JAMA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JAMA</span></a> <a href="https://zeroes.ca/tags/measels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>measels</span></a> <a href="https://zeroes.ca/tags/vaccines" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>vaccines</span></a></p>