A measles outbreak has killed more than 700 children and infected thousands of others across Zimbabwe, highlighting the risks of faltering childhood immunization campaigns around the globe. As of Sept. 6, the country’s Ministry of Health and Child Care was reporting more than 6,500 cases and 704 deaths. It has not released numbers since then. The outbreak is the result of a grim confluence of factors endangering child health in many countries. Routine immunization dropped significantly in Zimbabwe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anxious parents stayed away from health centers; health care workers were reassigned from routine vaccination programs to the Covid-19 pandemic response, and school closures and lengthy lockdowns scuppered the usual outreach campaigns. View More

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