Hosted by MSD South Africa, the forum acted as a platform for medical professionals and academics to give members of the media a true and balanced image of vaccinations by presenting the history and benefits of the process and breaking the negative stigma linked to it.
Professor Barry Schoub of the University of the Witswatersrand presented some of the facts surrounding the history of immunisation and vaccination touching on the history of smallpox, from its initial discovery to its official eradication in 1979.
He expressed his appreciation towards members of the media who were in attendance and said the media is such an essential part of spreading the benefits of vaccination and proving it to be an effective medical intervention in South Africa. Schoub added that a great deal of money has been saved by the implementation of effective vaccination programmes, saying that the eradication of polio costs R300 million with R1 billion being saved annually.
A presentation on the facts behind vaccinations’ impact on health in South Africa was covered by Professor Prakash Jeena from the Inkosi Albert Luthili Central Hospital in Durban. Jeena commended the governments for embracing vaccinations as a major achievement adding, “It’s better to prevent the disease rather than to treat it, that’s the beauty of vaccination”.
One of the primary objectives that global vaccination week will attempt to spread is adult vaccination which was covered by clinical virologist at Lancet Laboratories, Allison Glass, who said, “Even if you were vaccinated against an infectious disease as a child, your immunity may drop off as you age, leaving you at risk for infectious diseases”.
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