Measles: “Stagnant” vaccine coverage has led to global resurgence, analysis finds

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An analysis of measles trends across 204 countries and territories finds that global progress in reducing the disease reversed after 2020. Researchers link rising cases and deaths to stagnant vaccine coverage and COVID-era disruptions to immunisation programs, health systems, and funding, and call for urgent action.

Significant global progress towards eliminating measles has been lost since 2020 because of “stagnation” in global vaccine coverage, a new analysis suggests.1Researchers said that this had led to a resurgence in the disease and that “urgent action” was needed to restore routine immunisation.The study assessed measles incidence, mortality, disability adjusted life years, and vaccine coverage among children under 5 years of age across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023.The researchers found that, from 1990 to 2019, global measles incidence and mortality declined “substantially” by around 80% and 90%, respectively. This reflected “decades of progress” in routine immunisation, surveillance, and outbreak response, the researchers said.But the trajectory reversed after 2020, as incidence and mortality rebounded with 40% and 12% increases, respectively, from 2019 to 2023.The resurgence coincided with covid-19 related disruptions to immunisation programmes, health systems, and global health financing. By 2023 the study estimated 15.6 million measles cases...