Medicosnext
The World Immunization Week 2022 has just completed with the theme: Long Life for All. The ultimate goal of World Immunization Week is for more people and their communities to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunization is considered a cornerstone of public health, and one of the most cost-effective interventions available. It has contributed significantly to the decline in child morbidity and mortality in recent decades. Vaccines are the world’s safest method to protect children from life-threatening diseases.
The Expanded Program on Immunization was launched in Nepal in 2034 BS and has a massive role in reducing under-five mortality in the nation. The National Immunization Program (NIP) is implemented by the Child Health Division under Department of Health Services (DOHS, Teku). Nepal recently added the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) into the NIP this April 2022, since Nepal has one of the world’s highest typhoid burdens. Two years back, Rotavirus vaccine against diarrhea in children was introduced into NIP on July 2020. We are achieving milestones in immunization with support from donor organizations.
COVID-19 brought about lots of issues regarding immunization. Getting the vaccines to places they’re needed can be difficult, more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many mass vaccination efforts have been disrupted by lockdown measures and the need to maintain social distancing. The equitable distribution of vaccines surfaced as a major issue during the pandemic. Despite everything, by February 2022, Nepal fully immunized about 64% of its population against COVID-19. Nepal is still reaching the unreached and providing booster doses to those who had taken full doses earlier.
Vaccines are being viewed as tools to help limit the spread of antibiotic resistance by limiting the spread of infection and decreasing the need of antibiotics.
Let us spare some time to bust the myths on vaccines:
Myth 1. If a disease is already eradicated in my country, I do not need to vaccinate against the disease = BUSTED
The vaccine-preventable disease may have become uncommon in our country, but they still exist worldwide. Also, since immunization coverage is not 100%, the groups of under-immunized or unimmunized are still not protected.
Myth 2. Vaccines cause autism = BUSTED
There is no evidence of link between vaccines and autism. It was a 1998 study that linked vaccines with autism, but later, the study was found to be flawed, and the Lancet journal retracted the article. Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the author, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in 2010, and his practice was halted in the UK.
Myth 3. We should not administer multiple vaccines at a time = BUSTED
Scientific evidence shows that giving several vaccines at the same time has no negative effect on the immune system. Combined vaccines save time and money through fewer clinic visits, and also reduce discomfort through fewer injections.
Myth 4: Vaccines contain mercury, which is dangerous = BUSTED
Thiomersal is an organic, ethylmercury-containing compound and very few vaccines contain it in trace amounts. Also, mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in the air, water, and soil. There is no evidence of any link of trace amount of mercury in vaccines to cause a health risk.
Myth 5: Proper hygiene and sanitation is enough to stop disease spread = BUSTED
Many infections can spread regardless of cleanliness. Stopping vaccination of uncommon diseases like polio and measles lead to quick resurfacing of the diseases. UNICEF data claims that measles cases more than doubled in 2018 compared to 2017.
Myth 6: DPT and polio vaccine cause sudden infant death syndrome = BUSTED
There is no causal link between administration of the vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome. SIDS deaths are co-incidental to vaccination, because the timing for SIDS coincides with the time some vaccines are administered.
Myth 7: Vaccine-preventable illnesses are just an unfortunate fact of life = BUSTED
Vaccine-preventable diseases are preventable, not a fact of life. This can be seen from the COVID-19 vaccination and decreased mortality rate aspect, too.
Myth 8: It is better to be immunized through disease than through vaccines = BUSTED
The immune response to vaccines is similar to the one produced by natural infection, and moreover, immunity is attained by administering dead fragments or inactivated infective agents.
Myth 9: Vaccinated children experience more allergic, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases, compared to unvaccinated children = BUSTED
Vaccines teach our immune system to react to certain antigens and do not change the way our immune system work. There is no evidence of a link between vaccination and the development of allergic, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases later in life.
Myth 10: Vaccination is partly responsible for the global increase in cancer cases = BUSTED
Vaccines do not cause cancer. The vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) helps prevent several cancer types, including cervical, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancer.
Myth 11: The COVID-19 vaccines were not tested before approval = BUSTED
There are basically two aspects to vaccine testing—safety and efficacy. People were both surprised and suspicious as to how fast COVID-19 vaccines were developed. The world scientific community had many years of experience in the development and testing of various kinds of vaccines, including those for previous coronaviruses similar to COVID-19. The relatively rapid development of vaccines certainly did not come as a surprise to the experts in the field.
Myth 12: I already had COVID-19 and recovered, I do not need to be vaccinated = BUSTED
Since COVID-19 is a new disease, the length of immunity the disease confers post-infection is still under study, and many results have pointed out that the natural immunity is short lived. So, CDC of US recommends people to take vaccine regardless of disease. Yes, those who received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 disease must wait for another 90 days before getting the vaccine.
In this age of information overload, the challenge has been to pass on pertinent information as a means to increase the acceptance rate of vaccines in the days to come. Hope we were able to bust some myths on your mind too. Kudos to the vaccines—Long Life for All!
