12-1-22 measles vaccinations drop significantly

The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say measles immunization has dropped significantly since the coronavirus pandemic began, resulting in a record high of nearly 40 million children missing a vaccine dose last year.    Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says there are a lot of kids that fell behind in their routine vaccinations due to the pandemic.  Mueller says the pandemic also created a lot of vaccine hesistancy in general.  In a report issued last week the World Health Organiation and CDC said there were about nine million measles infections and 128,000 deaths worldwide last year.  The organizations said continued derops in vaccinations, weak disease surveillance and delayed response plans due to COVID-19, in addition to ongoing outbreaks in more than 20 countries, mean that   “measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.”