Romania is facing its worst vaccination crisis in decades, warns the non-governmental organization “Save the Children“ on its official Facebook page. It reported that less than half of the country's children were vaccinated against measles with the first dose in 2025. The main reasons for this include misinformation on social media, the abolition of vaccination in schools and the isolation of rural areas, BTA reported.
“More and more children are being deprived of the vital protection that vaccination provides, which has led to a progressive decrease in the vaccination coverage rate against MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), especially for the second dose administered at the age of 5“, the non-governmental organization also noted.
They call on the authorities to simplify the vaccination reporting system, provide communication training for medical staff, and develop a multidisciplinary team at the local level to promote vaccination of children.
According to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, between February 1, 2024 and 31 As of January 2025, the total number of measles diagnoses at EU level was 32,265, of which 27,568 were in Romania. Between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025, 35,736 measles cases were confirmed in Romania, of which 27,720 in children under 15 years of age and 3,188 in adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age. During the same period, 30 deaths caused by measles were recorded.
As for measles vaccination, in only one county in Romania - Bihor - vaccination coverage is above 70 percent, in 14 counties it is between 50.6 and 67.4 percent, in 24 counties - between 31.3 and 49.7 percent, and in three counties - below 30 percent. The lowest value (23.7 percent) was recorded in Argeș County. All values are below the 95 percent target recommended by the World Health Organization.
According to the conclusions of the 14th meeting of the Regional Commission for the Verification of Measles and Rubella Elimination (September 2025), Romania is among the 13 countries in the WHO European Region with endemic measles transmission, meaning that the disease is continuously circulating in the population.
“The figures show a collective failure. Almost half of Romanian children have not received even one dose of the MMR vaccine at the recommended age. Every unvaccinated child is a child at risk of illness and death from a preventable disease,“ notes Gabriela Alexandrescu, President of “Save the Children“ in Romania.