Grief 'next level' in Samoa as people deal with losing loved ones to measles

In the grief-struck Pacific island nation of Samoa, the measles epidemic death toll yesterday climbed to 68.

A two-day curfew now over and authorities are well-into a mass vaccination campaign to contain the deadly outbreak - reporting almost 90 per cent of vaccination coverage is now completed.

The official death toll is 68 - but that's not including any possible deaths overnight or the number of families who may have buried family members without reporting to authorities.

1 NEWS Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver described the grief in Samoa - a population of just 200,000 - as "next level".

"The grief here, you feel it," she told TVNZ1's Breakfast today. "Pretty much every family in Samoa has someone who has died or certainly knows someone who has died, or has an extended family member who has died, and we are talking babies and preventable deaths.

"It's certainly next level, and especially with Christmas coming up, it's pretty tough here."

Dreaver said although a successful two-day curfew is over, "the worry is far from over", especially for families of sick babies.

A total of 4581 measles cases have been reported to the disease surveillance team, with 121 in the 24 hours to yesterday afternoon. Makeshift ICU tents have been set up to take the burden off the main hospital.

The outbreak in Samoa followed an outbreak of measles in New Zealand - especially in Auckland.

Breakfast host John Campbell asked Dreaver, "who let this side down here? Public health figures in New Zealand? Public health figures in Samoa? Both?"

"Both have definitely been responsible for this measles outbreak," Dreaver said. 

A catch up is being played to vaccinate Samoa after immunisation rates had been "plunging", Dreaver added.

It's now reported 85 per cent of children under 5 have been vaccinated for MMR. However, it also means there is still a vulnerable 15 per cent still at risk.