VACCINE hesitancy — the delay or refusal by misinformed people to accept vaccination despite availability of services — promises to be a major threat to the wellbeing of Malaysian children. Official statistics show that the number of parents refusing to immunise their children has gone up from 470 in 2013 to 1,292 last year. Anti-vaccination groups, which blame vaccines for a range of health problems, have somehow managed to persuade these parents — mostly urbanites — to switch to traditional or alternative medicine for their children. The Health Ministry considers this a worrying trend as Malaysia is not completely free of vaccine-preventable diseases. Director-general of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah admits that Malaysia has achieved low levels of vaccine-preventable diseases for some diseases, such as diphtheria and neonatal tetanus, but that does not mean they have disappeared completely.
“Many of the viruses and bacteria are still circulating in this country; that is why it is important that children, especially infants and young children, receive the recommended immunisation on time.”
Vaccination doubters may not know this, but they are endangering more than their own children. Keeping children healthy requires the cooperation of the larger community, which takes us to the concept of herd immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a significant portion of a population (or herd) provides a measure of protection for individuals who have not developed immunity. The occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases in a community is prevented through herd immunity when more than 95 per cent of the population are protected against a particular disease. It will halt the transmission of the bacteria or virus.
Essentially, when enough people are protected, they shield vulnerable members of their communities — including children who are too young to be vaccinated, people with immune system problems and those who are too ill to receive vaccines, such as some cancer patients — by reducing the spread of the disease. But when the herd immunity is disrupted — for example, an influx of unvaccinated children in the area or many parties refusing vaccination — then the number of cases of the disease will go up.
The Health Ministry blames social media and the influence of family members for the rise in the number of Malaysian parents who do not like the idea of immunisation. These parents find contradictory information on vaccination in social media confusing and their lack of knowledge of the issue compounds the situation. Also, the vaccination doubters may not be aware of the danger and complications of the 10 vaccine-preventable diseases listed in the National Immunisation Schedule for children under 5. The diseases are tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenza type B, measles, mumps and rubella. The ministry warns that epidemics of many vaccine-preventable diseases could return when parents ignore immunisation programmes for their children.
The resistance to vaccines is worldwide, and doctors, midwives and other health professionals must do more to promote vaccination and dispel parents’ fears. Possible complications from measles alone include pneumonia, hearing loss, brain damage and even death. The wellbeing of our children is at stake. We do not want a deadly outbreak to hammer home the cost of inaction.