Failure to vaccinate children against measles has led to a 556% surge in the number of reported cases and a 50% increase in deaths from the disease since 2016, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although global measles vaccination efforts have saved an estimated 25.5 million lives since 2000, a joint report from the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that the worldwide proportion of individuals protected by at least 1 shot of the 2-shot measles vaccine increased from 72% in 2000 to 84% in 2010 but it has since plateaued at about 85%.