The Israel Ministry of Health reports that a one-year-old unvaccinated baby with no underlying conditions died today from measles complications. The child died in a Jerusalem hospital.
The death marks the 14th fatality in Israel due to the measles outbreak that began in May. In other fatal cases, most of those who died were healthy infants with no underlying conditions who were not vaccinated.
All children are recommended to be vaccinated at age one and at age six (as part of the routine immunization schedule). In outbreak areas:
Advance the second vaccine dose to age one and a half.
Recommendation for an additional vaccine dose for infants aged 6–11 months in outbreak areas and when traveling to locations with outbreaks.
The Ministry of Health recommends that those who are unvaccinated, as well as parents of infants aged 6–11 months who have received one vaccine dose, avoid participating in large gatherings in outbreak areas due to the risk of infection.
Areas classified as experiencing a measles outbreak, as of November, are Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi’in Illit, Nof HaGalil, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod, Safed, Netivot, Haifa, Tiberias, the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, and the settlement of Tekoa.