Concern about children not getting routine vaccines

Chief Medical Officer The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George has urged parents to ensure their children are up to date with their vaccinations, as he expressed concern about a falloff in children going to get routine shots.

“What we have noticed is that during COVID, there has been some drop off in the vaccines that we typically offer children, that we have been offering children for years and years quietly in the background to make then safe against measles, diphtheria, rubella, etc,” he told a national press conference hosted by COVID-19 Public Advisor David Ellis on Wednesday.

Dr George said he would prefer for children to be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, and those types of preventable diseases before they are vaccinated against COVID-19, explaining that children have had better outcomes and better responses to the viral illness.

“I want to use this platform to urge parents to make sure that their children’s vaccination record is up to date…. The polyclinics are open…. Because the volume has decreased with respect to COVID vaccinations, we are slowly shifting our response from the peripheral sites back to the traditional polyclinics within your catchment,” he said.

“The polyclinics are open, nurses have returned in full force so, therefore, use the opportunity . . . to get your children vaccinated for the following: measles, mumps and rubella, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza, diphtheria, tetanus.”

Meanwhile, Dr George said efforts are continuing to source COVID-19 vaccines for children.

The Chief Medical Officer stayed clear of suggesting why people opted not to access primary care services from the polyclinics during the height of the pandemic, noting that there could be multiple factors.

However, he suggested that the health care system was now seeing the impact of the problem with more people showing up with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that are not under control.
(SD)