African Vaccination Awareness Week is celebrated from April 19 to 25.
According to Hanlie van der Walt, pharmacist at The Local Choice Falls Pharmacy, Northmead, Covid 19 and lockdown regulations harmed the country’s child immunisation programme.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), global vaccination coverage dropped by 3% in 2020.
It is estimated that 23 million children under the age of one did not receive basic vaccinations and that the number of completely unvaccinated children rose by 3.4 million.
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“Vaccinations assist little ones’ immune systems to produce much-needed anti-bodies should they come into contact with bacteria or viruses that cause childhood illnesses such as measles and chickenpox,” said van der Walt.
“These deactivated strains and sustained immunisation has led to fatal and debilitating diseases like Polio being eradicated, however, with new anti-vax movements resurgence of these viruses may be imminent.”
She said that as with the current Covid vaccine roll-out, the vaccine does not guarantee that the patient will not contract the disease but symptoms and long-lasting effects are minimised.
“Immunisation is not merely aimed at infants and children. Adults must also make use of yearly vaccines such as flu injections as well as ones for pneumococcal diseases.
“These vaccines are administered to patients every five years and have long-standing benefits for anyone suffering from lung-related ailments, such as asthma and COPD,” she said.
For more information regarding childhood immunisation or preventative vaccinations visit your local clinic or pharmacy that offers clinic services.
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