Measles: The next vaccine-preventable disease is back

Vaccination coverage urgently needs to be increased

Vienna (OTS) – Measles, like some other infectious diseases, has “paused” during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they are back, as the recent cases in Styria show. This is not surprising, because especially with the measles vaccination you need a high vaccination rate to make the disease disappear. Despite free vaccinations, this is far from being achieved in Austria. In order to change that, the Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH) is now calling for a suitable strategy that not only reaches children, but also adults who have not yet been vaccinated against measles.

„The current measles outbreak in Styria shows impressively that measles are not only highly contagious but also dangerous“, states Mag.a Renée Gallo-Daniel, President of the ÖVIH. According to media reports, several of the affected children are now in hospital treatment and some even need oxygen. It has also been proven for a long time that measles can also have long-term consequences such as a weakened immune system, and in very rare cases even years later, a fatal encephalitis.[1]

Vaccination could eradicate measles

But that doesn’t have to be the case. There is a highly effective vaccine that could even eradicate measles. Eradication is also the declared goal of the WHO. “To do that, we need to achieve community protection‘” explains Gallo-Daniel. “And for that we need a 95 percent vaccination rate with two doses of the live vaccine. Unfortunately, we are currently very far away from this, although Austria has committed itself to working towards achieving this goal.” Her colleague Mag.a Sigrid Haslinger, Vice President of the ÖVIH adds: “Vaccination coverage was already too low before the COVID-19 pandemic, but has continued to fall since the pandemic began.For example, the vaccination rate for 2-year-olds in 2021 is only 84% for the first partial vaccination and 74% for the second partial vaccination. Even among young adults, only 86 percent are fully vaccinated.[2] The high vaccination rate is also important because infants under the age of nine months are not yet vaccinated themselves and can therefore only be protected indirectly through their (vaccinated) environment.

Catch up on vaccinations

„During the COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccination focus was understandably on COVID-19 vaccination as well as vaccinations against other respiratory diseases“, explains Dr. Christoph Jandl, General Secretary of the ÖVIH. At the latest, the current measles outbreak shows that something must also be done with other vaccinations to prevent further outbreaks of the disease. “Vaccinations that were canceled or postponed during the pandemic now urgently need to be made up for.The ÖVIH emphasizes that the vaccines are not a failure. “The member companies of the ÖVIH have reported that enough vaccine is available in Austria.“, emphasizes ÖVIH President Gallo-Daniel.

rethinking required

„Many people may not even be aware that they or their children are not or not sufficiently protected against measles“, suspects ÖVIH Vice President Haslinger. “In addition, many still consider measles to be a harmless childhood disease. Unfortunately, that is not the case and that is why the MMR vaccination, which includes not only the measles vaccine but also those against mumps and rubella, is so important.“ „We need a strategy to significantly increase vaccination coverage for measles vaccination and to reach the 95 percent required by the WHO as quickly as possible“, Secretary General Jandl sums up the situation. “This applies not only to children, but also to adult vaccinations‘ explains Gallo-Daniel. In general, a concept from the public sector is needed for the so-called life-course immunization, i.e. lifelong vaccination, not only for the measles vaccination, but for all vaccinations that you need in the course of a lifetime. The ÖVIH has already presented several concrete plans and statements on this subject. Incidentally, the measles vaccination is already free for all age groups.

[1] Ministry of Social Affairs, last accessed on February 22, 2023

[2] BMSGPK, Summary Report Measles 2021