Currently, Mexico reports a delay in the measles vaccinationTherefore, there could be an outbreak of the disease at any time, Excelsior informed, José Luis Díaz Ortega, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Care Program of the National Center for Child and Adolescent Health (Censia).
He explained that through the third quarter of 2022 coverage had just reached just over 72.5%, a situation that contrasts with the 95% full coverage achieved at the end of 2021.
The entities with the greatest immunization delays are: Baja California, Chihuahua, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz.
“This year we had some problems because in some institutions vaccination coverage decreased despite having the vaccine. And in other states, we’ve had a delay in delivering the vaccine.
“This has dropped vaccine coverage so that by the third quarter of 2022 we have coverage of, well, still lagging, but above 72% across the country. Although we must also clarify that there is a delay in the capture of applied vaccines ”, she explained.
MEXICO WITH NO CASES OF MEASLES SINCE 2020
José Luis Díaz Ortega added that since May 2020 – when a measles outbreak occurred with 196 imported cases – no contagion of the virus has been reported in the country.
However, he insisted that as long as the disease exists in the world, there is a possibility that people who travel will bring the virus to our territory, even if Mexico is internationally certified as a measles-free country, since the last indigenous case recorded in 1995.
“The possibility of a measles outbreak is always real, because it is a disease that sadly has not been eliminated or eradicated on the planet.
“Right now there are several outbreaks of measles in Africa, some European and Asian countries. In Latin America there are outbreaks that are not that big, but they were like in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela,” she said.
THE MEASLES VACCINE IS PERMANENT
Faced with this scenario, the director of Censia’s Child and Adolescent Health Program added that the only way to permanently protect yourself from measles is with the vaccine, which in Mexico is administered free of charge throughout the year in the national vaccination calendar.
“The triple viral vaccine against measles, rubella and mumps or mumps is applied in two doses: one a year and the second at six years.
But in addition, we also have the dual viral vaccine against measles and rubella, which is administered every four years in national campaigns,” reported José Luis Díaz Ortega.
MEXICO WITHOUT OUTBREAKS FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS
In May 2023, Mexico will celebrate three years without measles cases. The latest outbreak in the country was in early 2020, with 196 imported cases in Mexico City, Mexico State, Tabasco and Campeche. The last case was reported on May 30, 2020.
GLOBAL REVERSE IN MEASLES VACCINATION
On Nov. 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that nearly 40 million children could be infected with measles due to delayed vaccination. Without precedents.
“Measles vaccination coverage has declined steadily since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, nearly 40 million children missed a dose of the measles vaccine, an unprecedented number: 25 million children missed the first dose and another 14.7 million missed the second, a joint publication by the ‘World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“This decline marks a significant setback in global progress towards achieving and sustaining measles elimination and leaves millions of children exposed to measles,” WHO said on its official website.
José Luis Díaz Ortega, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Care Program of the National Center for Child and Adolescent Health (Censia).
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