Unvaccinated Toddler, Aged Two and a Half, Dies from Measles

The Health Ministry reports that a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler who was not vaccinated against measles died yesterday due to measles complications. This is the eighth reported death since the measles outbreak began, with all cases involving healthy infants without underlying medical conditions who were unvaccinated. Additionally, a six-and-a-half-year-old child from southern Israel who was not vaccinated against measles is on a ventilator due to measles.

The Health Ministry reiterates that measles is preventable through effective and safe vaccination.

Recommendations
It is recommended that all children be vaccinated at age one and again at age six (as part of the routine vaccination schedule) in outbreak areas:

• Advance the second dose of the vaccine to age one and a half.
• The ministry recommends an additional vaccination for infants aged 6-11 months in outbreak areas and when traveling to areas with outbreaks.

Current outbreak areas: Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi’in Illit, Nazareth Illit, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod, Safed, Netivot, and the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.

In these areas, people can visit family care centers, health maintenance organizations, and measles vaccination stations that have been set up to promote vaccinationd, without needing to make an appointment in advance. The Health Ministry advises those who are unvaccinated, as well as parents of infants who have received one shot of the vaccine between the ages of 6-11 months, to avoid participating in large gatherings in outbreak areas due to the risk of infection.

As a result of the Health Ministry’s efforts to increase vaccination coverage, there has been a 500% increase in vaccinations in Jerusalem since September compared to the same period last year, with an even higher increase of 630% in Beit Shemesh. In light of these figures, the first-dose vaccination coverage (for ages 1-6) against measles in Jerusalem rose from 77% to 84%, and in Beit Shemesh from 72% to 82.6%.

Attached is a video featuring the Deputy Director-General of the Health Ministry, Dr. Sefi Mendelovich, and heads of pediatric intensive care departments at hospitals discussing the importance of measles vaccination (Hebrew).

A link is also provided to the Health Ministry’s “Data World” for inforgraphics about measles.