Pacific Island Countries demonstrate the sustained success of a coordinated measles mass vaccination campaign
While the world procrastinates on whether to commit to a measles eradication goal, unvaccinated children continue to needlessly die due to this vaccine-preventable viral infection. More than a decade has passed since an expert assessment unequivocally concluded the feasibility of the eradication ambition, but epidemiological, ethical and economic costs of delaying eradication continue to accrue. There is increased urgency to accelerate eradication efforts as the dual pandemic impacts of weakened surveillance and decreased childhood immunisation coverage threaten to unleash a global measles resurgence.
There is downside to tackling measles elimination on a country-by-country basis rather than closely coordinating activities, particularly mass immunisation campaigns and surveillance, across epidemiological blocks of countries that share travel, trade, tourism and family connections.