Paediatrician Dreads Students Returning To School With 65% Drop In MMR Vaccine Coverage
Parents have been urged to schedule urgent catch-up vaccinations for their children.
By May Vin Ang — 17 Jul 2020, 10:41 AM
A paediatrician has expressed concern about the disruption of routine vaccination services for Malaysian children during the Movement Control Order (MCO)
Immunise4Life programme chairman Dr Zulkifli Ismail told CodeBlue that there was a drastic decline in measles and chickenpox vaccine uptakes in March and April this year.
He said statistics show there was a 65% decrease in the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake this year compared to March 2019, and the number further dropped to 72% in April.
As for the optional varicella or chickenpox vaccination, he said uptake declined by 41% in March this year compared to March 2019, and further dropped to 83% in April compared to the year before.
"The uptake has drastically dropped and shows no signs of recovering in May 2020," Dr Zulkifli told CodeBlue.
Although not immediately apparent, the consultant paediatrician said this is a concerning trend as schools reopen
"During the MCO, we have seen less infectious diseases because the children are at home and not exposed to their peers and other children," Dr Zulkifli said.
"When the MCO is lifted, and children go to school, that's the time when we dread."
He said the MMR vaccination trend is worrying because parents tend to forget the routine immunisation schedule.
"With the drop in MMR uptake, we fear an outbreak towards the end of the year or early next year."
In April, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) had already expressed concern about the dropping vaccination rates and warned about the possible resurgence of diseases
According to The Star, both the international public health agencies were aware that people were unable to access vaccination services during the pandemic for various reasons, including transport interruptions, economic hardships, restrictions on movement, or even fear of being exposed to people with COVID-19.
However, they highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic was a good illustration of how fast an outbreak could spread when communities do not have immunisation.
"While no vaccine exists yet for COVID-19, the world has effective and safe vaccines for other serious and highly contagious diseases like measles, polio, or diphtheria," they said in a joint statement for World Immunisation Week.
Both organisations urged countries to prioritise the continuation of routine immunisation and for parents to bring their children and babies to get vaccinated if it was postponed during the pandemic.
"If immunisation services must be suspended, urgent catch-up vaccinations should be rescheduled as soon as possible, prioritising those most at risk," they said.
