‘Vaccine refusal endangers everyone’ says health minister

HEALTH minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has warned that his department may not achieve its set targets if anti-vaccine lobby groups continue to mislead parents about the efficacy of immunisation.

This follows protests by some communities in parts of the country, who have recently experienced a measles outbreak.

Minister Motsoaledi said this year, the department had targeted to reach more than five million children from the age of six months to five years through its measles vaccination campaign and routine services. However, they only managed to achieve 80 per cent of the targets due to a number of factors including anti-vaccine lobby groups and non-cooperative parents, who refuse to sign consent forms to permit healthcare workers to vaccinate their children.

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“Vaccine refusal endangers everyone, not just the unvaccinated children. Thus, you must prioritise the health and well-being of your kids by taking them to the nearest clinic or healthcare provider to ensure that are up-to-date with vaccination,” Motsoaledi said.

Measles is a highly infectious illness with the potential for serious and life threatening complications. Individuals who never had measles and those who are unvaccinated or are incompletely vaccinated may be at risk of measles when visiting areas with measles cases.

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