LONDON (AP) — Measles deaths globally spiked by more than 40% last year and cases rose after vaccination levels dramatically dropped during the pandemic, leading health agencies said Thursday.
It sickened 9 million children and killed 136,00, mostly in poorer countries, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report.
“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” said CDC’s John Vertefeuille, said in a statement.
British health authorities warned in July that there was an extremely high risk of outbreaks in London, with some areas of the capital reporting that only 40% of children were vaccinated.
Immunization rates against measles in the U.K. have never fully recovered since spurious claims that linked the vaccine to autism were made by discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield more than two decades ago.
No scientific studies have ever confirmed the link, but Wakefield’s research led to millions of parents worldwide abandoning the shot.
The original article contains 377 words, the summary contains 176 words. Saved 53%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!