2019 Samoa measles outbreak

Summary

The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. By 6 January 2020, over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths had been reported, out of a population of 200,874, an infection rate of more than 2.5%. The cause of the outbreak was decreased vaccination rates among newborns, from 74% in 2017 to 31–34% in 2018. Nearby islands had rates near 99%.