POLOKWANE – Sister (Sr) Debbie Cordewener from the First Steps Clinic in Jorisson Street, says she loves helping parents by assisting them with every step it takes to be the best parents they can be, saying she cares for every child as she would her own.
She told Review that vaccines are the single most important and effective way to save lives and prevent diseases as they do not only protect the individual, but curb the spread within the community as well.
“If we talk about the importance of immunisation, we have to realise that we need to work together to get our children and community immunised to reach the target, to ensure herd immunity, which will keep us safe from preventable infectious diseases,” she said.
The schedules provided by the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) South Africa range from birth to 12 years of age, including a schedule for adults as well. “There are government as well as private clinics available to ensure that your immunisation schedule is completed. Please talk to your health care provider of choice to assist you in evaluating if you and your family’s immunisations are up to date,” she advises.
All clinics and healthcare providers are working together to keep everyone safe during consultations, to ensure the correct measures are in place to keep you safe from not only Covid, but also other diseases. “As said by Prof Shabir Madhi, South Africa has a relatively fragile service, despite not having met a coverage goal. As he stated; ‘We cannot afford to risk further under-immunisation of children because if this happens, we are setting ourselves up for an outbreak of life-threatening preventable diseases.’”
Debbie added that post-lockdown risk of diseases breaking out will not be seen as yet, but will in all probability spike when children integrate back into crèches and schools. “Please make sure to visit your clinic or health facility of choice to help us get the coverage in immunisations we need to keep the community safe,” she said.
She explains that there are a view reasons for adults to be aware of their own health and immunisations. It will be according to their health and underlying conditions as well as their travel habits and specific work conditions.
“Immunisation is safe. It is becoming safer and more effective all the time as a result of medical research. All vaccines used in South Africa are manufactured according to strict safety requirements and evaluated by the Medicine Control Council,” she said.
She lives by the motto: Be safe. Don’t hesitate and vaccinate. You should too, is her advice.
