Vaccine being administered. Photo courtesy nurse.org.
KINGSTON, Jamaica--Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Christopher Tufton says public health agencies such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) should move to push back against the growing anti-vaccination lobby which could prove detrimental to immunisation programmes in the region.
Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Dr. Tufton said that, while COVID-19 may be having some limited impact on Jamaica’s immunisation programme due to the redirection of some resources, there is an even larger threat from the intensifying anti-immunisation lobby. “I think a bigger challenge is the emergence of the anti-immunisation voice, which the public health community, including PAHO and WHO and others, need to take on seriously to counter the narrative which could lead to persons dangerously ignoring immunisation,” he stated.
Dr. Tufton said the challenges have been increased over time based on the strength of what seems to be a well-resourced anti-immunisation lobby. “You see a lot of people championing the cause for non-immunisation and making a case which I certainly don’t accept, which has had more reach, so that has affected some of the take-up [of vaccines – Ed.] – not a great deal, but some of it. So we have to renew our efforts and be more creative in getting people to understand the benefits of immunisation.”
PAHO has cautioned countries against slowing down of immunisation programmes. Recently, at a press conference, PAHO director Carissa F. Etienne stressed that countries should continue with routine immunisation programmes, particularly for children, to protect against outbreaks of illnesses in a pandemic.
Dr. Etienne said that, until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available, immunisations must be delivered by the health services alongside the response to the pandemic, and that failure to do this could have long-term impact on health systems. “And this is why, first, we must vaccinate to protect health workers, the elderly and vulnerable populations from other respiratory infections, which can lead to more hospitalisations and may be harder to diagnose in the context of COVID-19. Second, if we fall behind on routine immunisations, particularly for children, we risk outbreaks, thus overwhelming hospitals and clinics with preventable diseases in addition to COVID-19. The impact on our health systems would take months or even years to reverse,” the director said, pointing out that history has proven that where there are gaps in immunisation after wars or epidemics, diseases like polio and measles can re-emerge.
Jamaica’s health minister says there has been no significant negative impact on the country’s immunisation programme so far, except for the continued administering of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to girls in schools. “To the extent that schools are out, that would be an obstacle,” he noted. The minister pointed out also that, with health staff having to be reassigned to airports and other locations as a result of public health measures to stem the spread of the virus, there has been some impact on vaccination, but that the ministry has not lost focus of the importance of sustaining the programme. “We are very committed to immunisation,” he insisted.
PAHO has recommended that, based on the potential risk and burden of the pandemic on health systems in the region, governments should prioritise the vaccines for diseases that have an imminent risk of expanding, such as those for other respiratory infections, such as influenza and pneumococcus. ~ Jamaica Observer ~
