Europe faces resurgence of measles due to low vaccination coverage

The United Kingdom has introduced restrictions for non-immunized children in Birmingham, while Romania has declared a national epidemic after three deaths were reported

European authorities warned of the risk posed by low vaccination coverage against measles, and the worst predictions have come true. The disease is easily preventable with two vaccine doses, and practically disappeared in Europe during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But in recent months, it has resurged, and very strongly in some areas.

Three people — two of them babies — died in Romania, which declared the measles a “national epidemic” in December. In the United Kingdom, dozens of children have been hospitalized in the city of Birmingham since November, according to local media, British authorities are forcing unvaccinated minors in the city to isolate at home if they have been in contact with someone who is sick. Austria has been fighting measles since the beginning of 2023 with several outbreaks that have led to nearly 200 cases. While in a school in Guilherand-Granges, in the French department of Ardèche, dozens of unvaccinated children were infected, with 60 cases detected and several patients hospitalized.

According to 2022 statistics from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the average vaccination coverage in the European Union is notably lower — 92.4% for the first dose and 89.7% for the second. The organization, however, warns that these percentages have been falling in countries like Romania over the last decade, dropping to 78% and 62%, respectively.