Bill Gates Abandons Measles Elimination Goal

Hesitancy toward vaccination in wealthy countries means that eliminating measles as a global public health threat is not currently possible, Bill Gates said in an interview with Reuters.

The Microsoft co-founder noted that eliminating this deadly childhood disease had previously been a potential goal of his eponymous foundation, which focuses on global health and the world’s poorest people.

However, the foundation has now dropped this priority due to increased vaccine hesitancy in wealthier countries, part of a broader wave of skepticism that has been championed for decades by current US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“At one point, the foundation wanted to eliminate measles, but vaccine hesitancy in wealthy countries meant that it’s not on our list of goals,” Gates said. “I think that’s a bit tragic,” he added.

Measles, one of the most contagious diseases in the world, causes high fever, coughing and a characteristic rash.

Before the vaccine was introduced in the 1960s, the virus killed approximately two million children each year. Currently, about 100,000 children die each year, mostly in countries where vaccination is hampered by conflict or logistical challenges. The WHO states that vaccination coverage must be above 95% to prevent an outbreak.

In recent years, however, there has also been an increase in cases in countries where the disease had been all but forgotten, including the United States and countries across Europe, as vaccination rates have declined.

(Reuters, im)