Global measles deaths dropped to an estimated 95,000 in 2024 from 780,000 in 2000, yet the World Health Organization warns that elimination is under threat. While historical vaccination efforts averted nearly 59 million deaths, coverage stagnation in 2025 has left millions of infants under-protected against the airborne virus.
Global Progress and the 2024 Toll
Major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, claiming an estimated 2.6 million lives annually. Accelerated immunization campaigns led by countries, the World Health Organization, the Measles & Rubella Partnership, and other international partners successfully prevented an estimated 59 million deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to official data.
Despite these extensive gains, the disease remains a significant global threat. Even with a safe and cost-effective vaccine available for about 60 years that costs less than US$ 1 per child, an estimated 95,000 people died from measles in 2024. Most of these fatalities occurred among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five years.
Coverage Gaps and the 2025 Retreat
Immunization coverage has experienced concerning setbacks following years of progress. The proportion of children receiving a first dose of the measles vaccine was 84% in 2025, sitting slightly below the 2019 level of 86%. By 2025, 77% of children received both doses of the measles vaccine.
According to WHO and UNICEF estimates, approximately 29 million infants remained under-protected against measles in 2025. The World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization concluded that based on current trends of coverage and incidence, measles elimination is under threat because the virus has resurged in numerous countries that had achieved or were close to achieving elimination.
Complications and High-Risk Populations
Measles is a highly contagious, serious airborne disease caused by a virus that spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Symptoms usually begin 7–14 days after exposure and a rash typically lasts 4–8 days before fading. Most deaths stem from severe complications.
Complications include blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, and severe breathing problems such as pneumonia. Pregnant women who catch measles face dangerous risks, including miscarriage or premature birth with a low birth weight. These severe health outcomes are most common in children under 5 years and adults over age 30, particularly those who are malnourished, lack vitamin A, or have weakened immune systems from HIV or other diseases. Additionally, the risk of outbreaks is particularly high among refugees.
Two-Dose Strategy and International Response
Children should receive two doses of the vaccine to ensure immunity, as not all children develop protection from the first dose. The first dose is typically given at 9 months of age in countries where measles is common and 12–15 months elsewhere, with a second dose administered later in childhood at 15–18 months. The vaccine is given alone or combined with vaccines for mumps, rubella, and/or varicella. Routine vaccination combined with mass immunization campaigns remain crucial for reducing global deaths, and the vaccine is also deployed in emergencies to halt outbreaks.
Global stakeholders endorsed the Immunization Agenda 2021–2030 in 2020, positioning measles as a tracer of a health system’s ability to deliver essential childhood vaccines. The World Health Organization also published a strategic framework that year outlining seven priorities for regional elimination. Meanwhile, the Immunization Agenda 2030 Measles & Rubella Partnership—led by the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, and the WHO—continues to help countries plan, fund, and measure efforts to permanently stop the disease.
