- Debunks concerns over the vaccines
-‘It is far more likely to be seriously injured by a vaccine preventable disease than by a vaccine,’ says DoHFW
Kohima, September 17 (MExN): The Government of Nagaland will launch its Measles Rubella Vaccination Campaign on October 3. The Campaign will target 4.72 lakh children between the ages of 9 months to 15 years who will be given an additional dose of MR vaccine.
This was informed in a press release issued in public interest by Dr. Kevichusa Medikhru, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare (DoHFW).
“The campaign is being carried out to eliminate measles and control rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in the country for which all susceptible children need to be vaccinated to break the transmission chain of the diseases,” it informed.
The campaign aims to rapidly build the immunity in the population and break the chain of transmission of the diseases. It targets all children, both boys and girls, in the age group of 9 months to 15 years across the country.
The campaign is being conducted as an intervention to increase the benefits to the health of the community. “Making vaccination mandatory should not be seen as an infringement of personal rights. Vaccines are still one of the safest options to prevent infectious diseases and all parents need to avail the facilities that are being provided free of cost at government health facilities,” stressed the DoHFW.
Sub optimal coverage
Measles immunization coverage in the state of Nagaland, according to the Directorate, is “sub optimal” (74% as per HMIS 17-18). “There have been large number of measles as well as rubella outbreaks with deaths in the past 4 years namely in the districts of Mon, Zunheboto, Longleng and Kiphire,” warned the press release.
The cases were investigated under the laboratory based Measles Surveillance program jointly run by the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) and the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project (IDSP) of the health department.
Data from these outbreak investigations have reportedly shown that the percentage of unvaccinated children who were affected with measles ranged from 75-99% which means that the “herd immunity of the community is very poor and will not be able to withstand a surge of highly contagious diseases such as measles.”
The rise in cases of vaccine preventable diseases secondary to lower immunization rates is becoming a serious public health problem in many countries which includes countries like Italy, France, Australia and the state of California, USA all of which have recently implemented laws making vaccination mandatory for children.
Distrust of vaccines
This rise is “compounded by the fact that there is vaccine hesitancy amongst parents either due to low awareness levels or misinformation and distrust about vaccines and governments and health authorities,” observed the note.
Effective vaccination programs have been responsible for eradication of small pox and now limiting polio to just two countries. Diseases such as pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria, tetanus have become uncommon such that most of the current generation of today has not witnessed first-hand experience of the devastating consequences of vaccine preventable diseases.
“If people are not vaccinated, these diseases will quickly reappear. It is far more likely to be seriously injured by a vaccine preventable disease than by a vaccine. For example, in the case of polio, the disease can cause paralysis, measles can cause encephalitis and blindness and some vaccine preventable diseases can even result in death,” cautioned the Directorate.
In 1998, Lancet journal published a study which implied the link between MMR vaccinations and autism which was later found to be seriously flawed and fraudulent. The paper was retracted by the journal in 2010 because there is no evidence of a link between MMR vaccine and autism or autistic disorders.
Nagaland is the 26th state to conduct the campaign and till date, 108 million children of 23 states have been safely vaccinated without any serious incident of vaccine injury, maintained the Directorate.
Facts on Measles Rubella (MR) vaccines
1. MR vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine in use for over 40 years in many countries across the world.
2. Most vaccine reactions are usually minor and temporary such as a sore arm or mild fever. All government health facilities have been trained and equipped to manage cases of Adverse Events Following Immunization.
3. Good hygiene, sanitation, clean water and nutrition are insufficient for stopping infectious diseases.
4. Vaccines interact with the immune system to produce an immune response similar to that produced by the natural infection, but they do not cause the disease or put the immunized person at risk of its potential complications.
5. Thiomersal is an organic mercury containing compound added to some vaccines as a preservative. It is safe and the most widely used preservative for vaccines that are provided in multi dose vials. There is no evidence to suggest that the amount of thiomersal used in vaccines poses a health risk.
6. The MR vaccine administered in the current campaign is produced in India and has been licensed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (India). Majority of the global MR vaccines supplies are from India.
7. The syringes and needles used in the campaign come in sterile packaging and are auto-disable, which cannot be reused.
Source: Nagaland State Directorate of Health and Family Welfare
