Nearly 170m under-10s unvaccinated against measles worldwide
Source: The Guardian
Nearly 170m under-10s unvaccinated against measles worldwide
Figure includes half a million in UK, as Unicef warns the disease could ‘spread like wildfire’
Sarah Boseley Health editor
Thu 25 Apr 2019 00.01 BST Last modified on Thu 25 Apr 2019 00.45 BST
Nearly 170 million children in the world under the age of 10, including half a million in the UK and 2.5 million in the US, are unprotected from measles in the face of growing outbreaks of the disease, Unicef is warning.
More than 21 million children a year are not vaccinated against one of the most infectious organisms in existence, says the UN body. Between 2010 and 2017, an estimated 169 million children missed the first of the recommended two-dose regime.
“The ground for the global measles outbreaks we are witnessing today was laid years ago,” said Henrietta Fore, Unicef executive director. “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.”
Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, warned the situation was serious. “Getting yourself and your children vaccinated against killer diseases is essential to staying healthy, and vaccine rejection is a serious and growing public health timebomb,” he said.
He called for Facebook and Twitter to take action against the posting of anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. ...
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/25/nearly-170m-under-10s-unvaccinated-against-measles-worldwide
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