India’s Health Ministry on Sunday rejected the data by the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that revealed 11 lakh children in India did not receive their first dose of measles vaccine in 2022.
In a statement, the Ministry claimed that only 21,310 children missed their first dose of Measles Containing Vaccine (MCV) in 2022-23.
“These reports are not based on facts and do not reflect the true picture. These reports are based on the estimated number reported under the WHO UNICEF Estimates National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) 2022 report which covers the time-period from 1st of January 2022 to 31st of December 2022,” the Ministry said in a statement.
However, as per the HMIS of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a total of 2,63,63,270 children out of the eligible 2,63,84,580 children received their first dose of Measles Containing Vaccine (MCV) in the FY 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023), it added.
Last week, the CDC stated that measles cases in 2022 have increased by 18 percent, and deaths have increased by 43 percent globally (compared to 2021). According to the new report, there were still 33 million children who missed a measles vaccine dose: nearly 22 million missed their first dose and an additional 11 million missed their second dose.
“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 John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”
Of the 22 million children who missed their first measles vaccine dose in 2022, over half live in just 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Philippines.
“The lack of recovery in measles vaccine coverage in low-income countries following the pandemic is an alarm bell for action. Measles is called the inequity virus for good reason. It is the disease that will find and attack those who aren’t protected,” said Kate O’Brien, WHO Director for Immunization, Vaccine and Biologicals. “Children everywhere have the right to be protected by the lifesaving measles vaccine, no matter where they live.”
According to WHO, measles is preventable with two doses of measles vaccine.
Meanwhile, The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the US Centres for Disease Control published on Friday lists India among the top 10 countries with infants who hadn’t received the measles first dose in 2022. According to a report by Telegraph, India is fourth on the list after Nigeria (3 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (1.8 million) and Ethiopia (1.7 million).
The Ministry maintains that the government has taken several initiatives in coordination with the states to ensure that all children, either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated receive all missed/due doses of Measles Containing Vaccine (MCV).
This isn’t the first time that the Ministry has contradicted health statistics. Earlier, the health ministry had questioned estimates of COVID-19 deaths in the country and refuted the findings of the UN agency that claimed more deaths than India’s official figures.
