After the Covid-19 pandemic, did you think our immune systems were broken to deal with all diseases?

It's just the opposite.

The WHO has not ceased in recent months to sound the alarm on the risk of "absolute catastrophe" if the dangerous delay in the vaccination of children due to the Covid-19 pandemic is not caught up and if health restrictions are lifted too quickly.

The result is dizzying: the number of measles cases jumped 79% in the first two months of 2022, compared to the same period last year, according to WHO and Unicef.

The two UN agencies now fear serious outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious viral disease, which could affect "millions of children" in 2022. So far, some 17,338 cases of measles have been reported. worldwide in January and February 2022, compared to 9,665 in the first two months of 2021. But the numbers are likely higher as the pandemic has disrupted surveillance systems.

23 million children have not had basic vaccines

In the past 12 months, there have been 21 major measles outbreaks, most of them in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region, affecting Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria and even Afghanistan.

Because measles is highly contagious, cases tend to appear when vaccination levels drop.

The two UN agencies fear that outbreaks of measles are a harbinger of outbreaks of other diseases that spread more slowly.

“Measles is more than a dangerous and life-threatening disease.

It is also one of the first signs that there are gaps in global vaccination coverage,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

In 2020, 23 million children worldwide did not receive basic childhood vaccines through routine health services, the highest number since 2009 according to WHO and Unicef.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted immunization services, health systems have been overwhelmed and we are now seeing a resurgence of deadly diseases, including measles.

For many other diseases, the impact of these interruptions to immunization services will be felt for decades,” warned WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Now is the time to get essential immunization programs back on track and launch catch-up campaigns so that everyone can have access to these life-saving vaccines,” he urged.

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