UN says online anti-vaxxers fuelling Samoa measles deaths

Immunisation rates in Samoa dropped to just over 30% before the outbreak, well below accepted best practice of around 90%. — AFP

Social media giants must crack down on anti-vaccination posts that are fuelling Samoa's deadly measles epidemic from afar, Unicef's Pacific islands chief said Thursday.

Sheldon Yett, the regional representative for the UN children's agency, said "incredibly irresponsible" online material on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram had exacerbated the Samoa measles outbreak – which has claimed 62 lives since mid-October – by discouraging immunisation.