Ukraine is rated as the worst in Europe as far as measles-vaccination coverage with the Ukraine Health Ministry saying that the coverage was below 50 percent in recent years.

Image/Clker-Free-Vector-Images
Image/Clker-Free-Vector-Images

During all of 2017, 4782 cases of measles were registered.

In the first two weeks of 2018, The Ukraine Health Ministry (computer translated) has already put the case tally at 1285 adults and children (856).

The highest number of cases was recorded in Ivano-Frankivsk (275), Chernivtsi (274), Transcarpathian (194) and Odesa (157) oblasts. In the city of Kiev (Kyiv) during this period 84 patients were registered.

On Friday, Acting Health Minister Ulyana Suprun said:

“Yesterday it became known about yet another death from measles. This is a child who has not been vaccinated. This is the eighth death case since the start of the outbreak, and this is the tragedy of our society, in which people die from diseases that are prevented by vaccinations.”

Since September 2017, the Ministry, together with the Center for Public Health and with the support of UNICEF, has launched an enhanced information campaign on the need for vaccination against measles. Information and education posters about measles vaccination were distributed to parents in all regions of Ukraine, active informing of the population is carried out through social networks, Internet resources and traditional mass media.

Related: How contagious is measles? Answer: Very

During September-December 2017, 65.5% of the planned children were able to catch up with intensive vaccination. Speaking about a planned vaccination, in the 11 months of 2017, according to the national vaccination calendar, 87.8% of children in one year of life were vaccinated against measles.

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