Rubella and measles: The beginning of the endgame.

A September 2024 recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for universal introduction of rubella-containing vaccines (RCVs) into childhood vaccination programs in all countries paves the way to dramatically reduce, and ultimately eradicate, congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which affects tens of thousands of families each year (1). It removes a critical barrier to the introduction of rubella vaccination in most of the remaining 19 countries yet to do so. Because rubella vaccine is delivered in combination with measles vaccine and introduction will involve large campaigns to vaccinate all children under 15 years of age, this recommendation provides an opportunity to move much closer to the ultimate goal: a world without measles or rubella. With planning for this goal currently paused, the programmatic, operational, and research communities must come together to establish empirical benchmarks that countries have progressed far enough for a global target to be set and the "endgame" to begin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]