The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. File picture
PARENTS have expressed their hesitancy after the National Department of Health started a measles vaccination drive across South Africa.
The department said it will be conducting a nationwide measles vaccination campaign from February 6 to March 31.
The measles vaccination campaign will be used as a platform for providing vitamin A supplementation and de-worming medication to children who are due or missed their doses.
Last week the eThekwini Municipality shared a poster of the vaccination drive to alert the public about the drive, which was expected to start on February 7.
The municipality said: “Parents and caregivers are urged to ensure their children are fully immunised. Don’t forget to bring your child’s road to health card when getting them immunised. The campaign will run from 6 to 17 February. Children aged between six months and 15 years of age should be immunised against measles.”
Reacting to the post, this is what social media users had to say:
Siyabonga Xulu said it was “very sad” for them as parents to take their children for vaccination because they don’t know what the purpose is.
Mandla Sikhosana asked if there was anything that could be trusted in the country.
Zwe Sithole said: “You are no longer trustworthy. You always tell us a fairy tale. They shut down the whole country to force people to get vaccinated and destroyed the economy in the process.”
Ahmed Padia said: “Be careful, this is part of the NWO campaign.”
Zar KaMageba Ntuli asked them not to vaccinate her child as she would take them to the clinic. “We don’t trust anything.”
Sandile Mtshali said: “Don’t come kill our children.”
Pauline C Hammond said that every child is immunised already, quite a few times.
Parents and caregivers are urged to ensure children aged between six months and 15 years of age are immunised against measles.
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said they have tested 3,156 serum samples for measles of which 459 (14.5%) were confirmed positive from epidemiological week 40, 2022. In the past weeks (week 03 up until mid-week 04, 2023), there have been 43 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases detected across the country.
In outbreak-affected provinces, a total of 441 measles cases have been detected from week 40 of 2022 until week 04 of 2023. Provinces with the outbreak are Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West.
Vaccinations protect children from diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, rotavirus gastroenteritis, diphtheria, tetanus, haemophilus influenza type B, measles and whooping cough.
Once your child has been vaccinated, expect that they might have a slight fever or slight swelling on the injection site for a day.
If these get worse or last longer than two days, you should take your child back to a health facility. Moreover, it is important that your child has all the vaccinations on schedule.
A provincial Department of Health spokesperson, Ntokozo Maphisa, said to prevent measles the vaccine would be given to all children aged 6 months to 15 years, irrespective of their current or previous doses received.
He added that the Mebendazole de-worming tablets to prevent children from intestinal worm infestation would be given to all children aged 12 months to 59 months who are due for their routine dose or missed their routine doses.
“Vitamin A supplementation drops to assist in strengthening the immune system would be given to all children aged 6 months to 59 months who are due for their routine dose or missed their routine doses. All services rendered will be recorded in the road to health booklet for children under five years,” said Maphisa.
Moreover, Maphisa advised that parents send the road to health booklet to their child’s crèche/preschool. However, if you do not have the booklet, the services would still be provided.