Reason for Non-Vaccination: "Mother Was Busy"
Outbreaks of measles are being reported worldwide. Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease so its resurgence can be attributed to "gaps in vaccination coverage". Hundreds of cases of measles have already been confirmed in the Philippines, and some are quick to blame the dengvaxia fiasco as the main culprit behind why a significant number of children have not been vaccinated against measles. It may be true especially in Europe or in the US that parents have been refusing to have their children vaccinated for fear of side effects, but this is not necessarily true in the Philippines. In fact, a much more logical conclusion is the the Philippines' Department of Health not simply doing its job. Indeed, this is the real reason based on data collected by the Department.
The above two figures show that more than two-thirds of measles cases involve individuals who have not been vaccinated and of these two thirds, the primary reasons for non-vaccination are: (1) not eligible for vaccination, (2) mother was busy, and (3) child was sick. The main problems therefore stem from the delivery of the vaccine, a job that rests on the shoulders of health workers and authorities.
It seems that there is an attempt to dismiss the dengvaxia fiasco by placing those who have actively sought the truth behind the mess as creators of a widespread noncompliance to vaccinations. Clearly, this is not true and people who were behind the ill-advised mass dengue vaccinations still need to be held accountable and responsible for their actions. Likewise, gaps in vaccinations are obviously coming not from a fear, but to simple incompetence on the part of health officials.
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| Above copied from Vaccine Preventable Diseases Report (January to August 2018) |
The above two figures show that more than two-thirds of measles cases involve individuals who have not been vaccinated and of these two thirds, the primary reasons for non-vaccination are: (1) not eligible for vaccination, (2) mother was busy, and (3) child was sick. The main problems therefore stem from the delivery of the vaccine, a job that rests on the shoulders of health workers and authorities.
It seems that there is an attempt to dismiss the dengvaxia fiasco by placing those who have actively sought the truth behind the mess as creators of a widespread noncompliance to vaccinations. Clearly, this is not true and people who were behind the ill-advised mass dengue vaccinations still need to be held accountable and responsible for their actions. Likewise, gaps in vaccinations are obviously coming not from a fear, but to simple incompetence on the part of health officials.
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