measles now a 'growing' worldwide threat: who
vaccination rates have declined because of "influential churches that discourage immunization and urge members to rely on prayer and the intercession of pastors instead."
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a vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella (mmr) vaccine is pictured. reuters/lindsey wasson/file photo
a record high of 40 million children missed a vital dose of the measles vaccine in 2021, the world health organization (who) announced this week. the group called measles a “growing” threat and urged global action to prevent the spread of the illness in children.
“the paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against covid-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programmes were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” who’s director-general dr. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said in a statement. “getting immunization programmes back on track is absolutely critical. behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease.”
the announcement comes on the heels of the measles-related deaths of more than 700 children in zimbabwe. the pandemic and christianity-based vaccine hesitancy were the most significant factors behind the deaths, the new york times reported in september. the disease has mostly killed children between the ages of six months and 15 years, zimbabwe’s information minister monica mutsvangwa has said, according to reuters.
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measles is a highly contagious acute respiratory illness caused by a virus. symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, irritated eyes, and a telltale rash, according to the mayo clinic — but crucially, these signs don’t usually show up until about 10 to 14 days after exposure. by the time a child has measles symptoms, it’s likely they’ve already spread the virus to others.
children in canada are protected from measles by the mmr (measles mumps rubella) vaccine, which is generally given in two doses — once to babies between 12 and 15 months old, and the other before the child starts school.
pandemic slowed routine vaccinations
the pandemic caused the most significant slowdown to routine vaccinations in the last 30 years, the new york times reported in july. vaccination rates against measles fell to 81 per cent, along with the dtp3 vaccine which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. herd immunity only occurs when the vaccination rate is 94 per cent.
in 2019, there were 13 million children who hadn’t received even one dose of basic childhood vaccines — that number has now increased to 18 million.
“this is an emergency for children’s health — we have to think about the immediate stakes, the number of children that are going to die because of this,” said lily caprani, head of advocacy for unicef, told the times. “it’s not in a few years’ time; it’s quite soon.”
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most of the children who miss out on vaccines are children who are living in poverty. the highest numbers of unvaccinated children are in india, nigeria, indonesia, ethiopia and the philippines.
in zimbabwe, public health has been declining since 2017, the times reported, due to political crises. vaccination rates, specifically, have also been affected, “amplified by influential churches that discourage immunization and urge members to rely on prayer and the intercession of pastors instead.”
there are about 160 apostolic sects in zimbabwe, and about 2.5 million people, or about one-fifth of the country’s population, is a member of the religious movement, global press journal reports. there are differences between the many sects, but faith healing is a consistent part of most of them, along with the prosperity gospel.
some parents are even vaccinating their children in secret, the associated press reported, due to fear of publicly crossing church leaders.
government support happening slower than measles spread
debra mpofu, a member of the apostolic women empowerment trust, told the outlet that the group “encourage[s] women to get their children vaccinated, maybe at night. it’s really necessary for the women to protect their children.”
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after fierce negotiations, the group was allowed to distribute vaccination flyers at an apostolic congregation in the epworth region, outside the capital city of harare.
mutsvangwa told reuters that the federal government is trying to reach out to religious leaders to support vaccination. and thought there has been some progress, she said, it’s happening at a much slower rate than the spread of measles.
“contrary to the usual resistance, the apostolic church worshippers in manicaland have come out in their numbers for measles vaccination,” she explained to the times. “the process was, however, slow at first. and there are still some religious groups that continue to resist. a lot of advocacy and work with leaders of these groups is ongoing.”
maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com
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