Taken as a whole, the industrialized world has already achieved the immunization goal of 90 per cent coverage against measles and is likely to sustain the coverage until and beyond 2010. It averages 90 per cent or more for all the basic vaccines. Yet there is no room for complacency, as diseases can all too easily make a comeback if immunization levels slip, and improvement is still required in a few countries.
The 26 industrialized countries that have already achieved 90 per cent MCV coverage include all those from Central and Eastern Europe that joined the European Union in May 2004. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia were among six countries with 99 per cent coverage against measles in 2003.
A NOTE ON THE REGIONAL ANALYSES
