More than half a million UK children not given first dose of measles vaccine in 2010–17

A Unicef study has identified that 527,000 children in the UK were not vaccinated with the first dose of the measles vaccine in the period 2010-2017, with 32 cases of measles confirmed in Greater Manchester recently.
Children require two doses of the vaccine for protection, yet 15% did not receive the first dose globally in 2017, and 33% did not receive the second dose globally. It is thought there are several reasons for this, including a fear of the vaccine and a lack of access to it, but whatever the reasons, leaving these children unvaccinated has created outbreaks of measles in many countries in the last few months, with over 110,000 cases of measles being reported across the globe between January and March 2019, a 300% increase on 2018. The Unicef survey estimated that the number of fatalities increased by 22% in 2017 compared with 2016. Cases of the measles in Europe are at their highest for ten years, and were three times higher in 2018 at 82,596 than in 2017.
Henrietta Fore, UNICEF executive director, said: “The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we are serious about averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike. Measles is far too contagious. It is critical not only to increase coverage but also to sustain vaccination rates at the right doses to create an umbrella of immunity for everyone.”