"Pandemic-related disruptions, increasing inequalities in access to vaccines, and the diversion of resources from routine immunization are leaving too many children without protection against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases," the organizations said, adding that as cities and countries relax Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, measles outbreaks become more likely.

"It is encouraging that people in many communities are beginning to feel protected enough from COVID-19 to return to more social activities. But doing so in places where children are not receiving routine vaccination creates the perfect storm for the spread of a disease like measles," Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said in the release. ...