Childhood vaccination rates for diseases including measles and whooping cough are still below pre-pandemic levels in Europe and Central Asia, fueling a surge in cases, World Health Organization and UNICEF data show.
Overall, 94% of children received their first measles vaccine last year in the WHO’s European region, below the 96% immunization benchmark in 2019. It was the same as 2023, though the rate for second doses slipped a percentage point to 91%, according to the study by the WHO and UNICEF published Tuesday. The picture was similar for the DTP vaccine that includes whooping cough.