{"id":3569,"date":"2020-04-24T11:54:04","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T03:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=3569"},"modified":"2020-04-24T11:54:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T03:54:04","slug":"countries-must-prioritise-routine-immunisation-of-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=3569","title":{"rendered":"Countries must prioritise routine immunisation of children"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 – All countries including Malaysia are urged to give priority to\u00a0the continued\u00a0routine immunisation of children as well as provide vaccinations for groups most at risk in essential service delivery.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, the World Health Organisation and United Nation\u2019s Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) said\u00a0efforts must be made\u00a0to ensure that the vaccination schedules of children were\u00a0up-to-date while taking appropriate measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

“Global vaccination coverage is still far from the 95 per cent treatment\u00a0rate needed to fully protect communities against outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.\u00a0Roughly, 13 million of\u00a0children have never received any vaccine, putting them and their communities at risk of diseases and death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Measles continues to remain an ever-present threat, especially if the vaccination rates drop. Current projections indicate that as many as 800,000 people may have been infected with diseases\u00a0in 2019,” said the statement in conjunction with the World Immunisation Week 2020.<\/p>\n

According to the statement, there were\u00a0increasing concerns about another resurgence in 2020, especially if vaccination rates fell\u00a0due to delay or suspension of scheduled immunisation activities as a result of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

The statement said if immunisation services were to be\u00a0suspended, urgent catch-up vaccinations should be rescheduled as soon as possible, prioritising those most at risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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WHO Representative to\u00a0Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, Dr Lo Ying-Ru said there were\u00a0many impacts of COVID-19, including the possible resurgence of diseases that could be prevented with safe and effective vaccines.<\/p>\n

She said it is essential to ensure access to immunisation services during COVID-19, and that all parents should\u00a0continue to have their children fully vaccinated\u00a0against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, Stefan Priesner said immunisation saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognised as one of the world\u2019s most successful and cost-effective health interventions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said it was crucial that countries continue the fight against these other diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorld Immunisation Week 2020 comes at a difficult time as we grapple to fight and contain\u00a0the COVID-19 virus. However, we must keep in mind the need for routine immunisation for other diseases such as polio and measles,” he added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, UNICEF Representative to\u00a0Malaysia, Marianne\u00a0Clark-Hattingh said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout had\u00a0been a painful lesson to\u00a0make\u00a0vaccines universally available for all\u00a0to stop the spread and to prevent further outbreaks.<\/p>\n

She said every child, regardless of\u00a0their status, has\u00a0the right to be immunised as the disease does\u00a0not discriminate.<\/p>\n

“The poorest and most marginalised children who need immunisation the most continue to be the least likely to get it. Most of the\u00a0children who were not inoculated live in remote rural locations or with undocumented, refugee, migrant or stateless families,” she said.<\/p>\n

– BERNAMA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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