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WATCH: More than 20 million children a year missed first measles vaccine since 2010

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According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), between 2010 and 2017, an average of 21.1 million children missed their first dose of the measles vaccine.

The UNICEF report said that based on income, the United States list of high-income countries not receiving the first dose of the vaccine (2.5 million children).

It was followed by France (600 000) and the United Kingdom (500 000) during the period between 2010 and 2017.  

The situation in low- and middle-income countries, according to UNICEF is critical. 

In 2017 alone, nearly four million Nigerian children under 12 months, missed out on the first dose, putting it in the number one spot, followed by India at 2.9 million, Pakistan and Indonesia each at 1.2 million each and Ethiopia at 1.1 million, according to the report.

Recently, the World Health Organization said that measles cases have continued to climb in 2019, with reported cases in the first three months of 2019 nearly 300% higher versus the same period last year.

Image credit: iStock

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