‘Keep vaccines up-to-date over fears of rise in measles cases after coronavirus’

‘During this time, it is important to maintain the best possible vaccine uptake to prevent a resurgence of these infections.’

A further deadly health crisis in the wake of the coronanvirus pandemic looms as millions of people start to miss routine vaccinations.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that more than 100 million children could be missing measles injections due to Covid-19.

Immunisation programmes in 24 countries have already been moth-balled, the WHO said, with a further 13 nations considering similar pauses.

According to official figures there were more than 140,000 measles-related deaths in 2018, the majority of whom were children and babies.

Doctors in the UK are urging people to get their routine jabs despite the Covid-19 lockdown in order to stop the spread of further deadly diseases.

Doctor Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at Public Health England, spoke of the dangers of letting immunisation rates drop.

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She said: ‘The national immunisation programme is highly successful in preventing serious and sometimes life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, whooping cough, diphtheria and measles.

‘During this time, it is important to maintain the best possible vaccine uptake to prevent a resurgence of these infections.’

WHO research suggests as many as 117 million children across the globe could be missing out on measles jabs due to the outbreak.

A WHO statement read: ‘While we know there will be many demands on health systems and frontline workers during and beyond the threat of Covid-19, delivering all immunisation services, including measles vaccines, is essential to saving lives that would otherwise be lost to vaccine-preventable diseases.’

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