Danillovski warns of measles risk: only five cases, but vaccine coverage is falling

The five confirmed measles cases in Macedonia have highlighted falling vaccination rates and the risk that the disease could spread further. Prof. Dr. Dragan Danillovski is urging institutions to take greater responsibility, noting that coverage with the first dose of the MMR vaccine is just 62.7 percent—well below the 95 percent level required for collective protection.

Data for 2025 show that first-dose vaccination coverage has fallen from 72.7 percent in 2024 and 73.4 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, coverage with the second dose stands at 84.7 percent, according to an analysis by public health professor Dragan Danillovski.

Danillovski points out that preventing measles requires at least 95 percent of the population to receive both doses. The disease spreads extremely easily: in an unprotected population, one infected person can infect 12 to 18 others.

Among the factors affecting the situation, the professor cites misinformation and distrust of vaccines, as well as delayed immunization, missed appointments and difficulties accessing healthcare services.

He expresses doubts about the impact of institutional measures. Although an on-the-ground vaccination campaign was carried out in 2025 and the National Immunization Strategy for 2026–2030 was prepared, first-dose vaccination coverage continued to fall.

Following the emergence of new cases, institutions have launched epidemiological investigations, are tracing contacts and are checking vaccination status in schools, kindergartens and healthcare institutions.

Danillovski is calling for concrete action: identify children who have not received their doses and vaccinate them, and make the results of the immunization strategy’s implementation public.

In his view, the five measles cases should serve as a wake-up call for the entire healthcare system. Preventing an epidemic, he stresses, must begin long before the first patient is diagnosed.