Immunization journey: Where are we now?

Since the invention of the first vaccine in 1796 by British physician Edward Jenner—which was to curb the spread of smallpox, more vaccines have been developed so that humans can be immune to a sum of 26 infectious diseases. This includes polio, mumps, measles, typhoid, cholera, and many more.

In the Philippines, a polio outbreak was declared in September 2019, after being free from the disease for nine years. However, after just almost two years, the outbreak ended through a robust vaccination and effective outbreak response of the Department of Health (DOH). This is a testament of the efficacy of vaccines in providing protection against existing diseases today.

Low vaccination rate

Despite these evidence, the Philippines is still doing poorly in terms of immunization for children. Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) show that since 2016, immunization among infants and children started to decline. Among the reasons for this are the lack of supply, lack of manpower, poverty, and the government’s inability to reach remote areas of the country.

It also did not help when the COVID-19 pandemic came, further disrupting immunization services. The redeployment of health workers to assist in the pandemic response has limited or even halted parents’ access to immunization services resulting in only 65% of the 95% target population being able to complete the doses of critical vaccines in 2020.

Globally, around 23 million children missed out on vaccination and according to UNICEF, the only way to catch up is through greater commitment to and investment in immunization services.

“The last two years have taught us that a health care system that leaves some children exposed, is a health care system that leaves all children exposed,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The best way for the world to recover from this pandemic – and to prepare for future health emergencies—is to invest in stronger health systems, and immunization and essential health services for every child.”

Vaccine hesitancy in the 21st Century

Apart from shortage in supply and health workers for conducting routine immunization, vaccine hesitancy also posed a challenge in bringing up the number of children getting vaccinated. Despite studies and evidence proving their effectiveness and safety, many people today are having doubts about vaccines as if it were their first time knowing about medical innovation.

One of the culprits of this alarming hesitancy rate is misinformation and disinformation about vaccines. This was further highlighted during the pandemic when people are spreading fake news about the safeness of vaccines.

In Indonesia, people did not want to receive COVID-19 vaccines because they believed that it contained pork. While in the Philippines, rumors about the COVID-19 vaccine containing HIV particles spread after a certain vlogger posted about it on social media.

Adding up to the doubts locally is the 2016 Dengvaxia scandal. Dengvaxia is a then new dengue vaccine given to around 830,000 schoolchildren. Some of the children died after receiving the jab. This resulted in fears of getting children inoculated against vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as for COVID-19.

World Immunization Week 2022

In the past years of celebrating World Immunization Week in the month of April, various health organizations from all over the world are creating extensive campaigns highlighting the importance of vaccines, its effectiveness, and how it is 100% safe for everyone.

This year’s World Immunization Week’s theme is Long Life for All. Here, the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores how vaccines save lives and allow children and adults to live a long, healthy, and fulfilled life.

Supporting the WHO’s campaign is UNICEF, spearheaded by its Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson. In a video, Neeson talks about how the efforts of scientists such as Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine against polio, and dedicated workers who fill vials at factories or deliver vaccine injections, have made it possible to save two to three million child lives each year.

“Vaccines are a remarkable human success story. Over the last 75 years, billions of children have been vaccinated, thanks to scientists, to health workers, to volunteers. If you’ve ever been vaccinated, or vaccinated your children, then you are part of the arm-to-arm chain that keeps all humanity safe,” said Liam Neeson, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. “The conversation about vaccines in recent years has lost sight of how much good they have done for each of us. We need to celebrate this. It is perhaps one of the biggest collective achievements in human history.”

Every like, share, or comment on posts mentioning a UNICEF social media account and using the hashtag #longlifeforall from now until May 10 will unlock $1 to UNICEF, from the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – up to a total of US$10 million – to help ensure all children get the life-saving vaccines they need.

In the Philippines, DOH will be launching an immunization drive called Chikiting Bakunation Days giving parents the opportunity to have their infants and children get inoculated in the last Thursdays and Fridays of the month, from April to June. Here infants and children can get doses of all the initial vaccines they need such as the BGC vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, pentavalent vaccines, polio vaccines, PCV vaccine, and MMR vaccine.

As the government eases on quarantine restrictions, it is important that everyone take advantage of this opportunity to get vaccinated–infants, children, pregnant women, adults, and elderly. Apart from continuously securing booster shots against COVID-19, may the majority also remember that it is still necessary to get immunization from other infectious diseases that are still present today.

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