The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported a sharp drop in deaths from measles in recent decades yet warned that growing outbreaks of the virus are exposing weaknesses in immunisation programmes.
In a new report, the health agency identified an 88% decrease in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024. Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000, according to WHO’s analysis.
The MMR vaccine gives long-term protection against measles, mumps, and rubella. MSD first launched a vaccine in the US in 1971 and the company currently remains one of the major manufacturers of the jab alongside GSK.
While the proportion of children receiving their first dose of measles increased in 2024 compared to 2023, the number of those receiving their second dose is still too low to stop transmission. According to WHO guidance, at least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required – this number stood at 76% globally in 2024.
Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are surging worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Children living in low- and middle-income countries are particularly at risk of the virus, though cases have resurged even in high-income countries that once eliminated it. This is because immunisation rates have dropped below the 95% threshold.
One of those hit by outbreaks in 2025 has been the US. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the highest number of cases this year since measles was declared eliminated in the country in 2000.
The rise in cases has come amid a volatile vaccine landscape in the US. Health secretary Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr has alternated between endorsing and shunning the MMR vaccine, a shot that is proven to provide strong immunity against the disease.
RFK Jr overhauled the CDC’s vaccine committee this year, replacing members with well-known vaccine sceptics and individuals who were critical of both the Covid-19 vaccines and related countermeasures such as lockdowns.
The WHO did not directly call out the stance of President Trump’s administration on vaccines, though did warn that growing global outbreaks signal weaknesses in immunisation strategies and health systems. The agency also said that the world’s goal to eliminate measles by 2030 “remains a distant one”.
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Measles is the world's most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defences against it.
“Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”
