Friday, 28 November 2025
NEWS RELEASE
Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, but cases surge
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-11-2025-measles-deaths-down-88--since-2...
Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000.
However, an estimated 95 000 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2024. While this is among the lowest annual tolls recorded since 2000, every death from a disease that could be prevented with a highly effective and low-cost vaccine is unacceptable.
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...
While recent measles surges are occurring in countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, those infected remain at risk of serious, lifelong complications such as blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage).
COMMENT (NPW): The news release does not mention the contribution of recent events at the US CDC. Meanwhile, NPR reports: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism," said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a statement. https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/11/20/nx-s1-5615040/...
The CDC website now says: 'Scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism. However, this statement has historically been disseminated by the CDC and other federal health agencies within HHS to prevent vaccine hesitancy.'
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html
Dr. Paul Offitt, a pediatrician and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says: "They might as well say chicken nuggets might cause autism because you can't prove that either."
A farcical tragedy is unfolding before our eyes.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org