The Western Cape Department of Health & Wellness has sounded an urgent alarm over a steep decline in infant vaccination coverage across the province, with data showing a concerning 27.6% drop from the critical 95% target, putting many infants at immediate risk of diseases like measles, polio, TB and whooping cough.
The department says the province is already experiencing the consequences of this drop in vaccination rates, reports BizCommunity. On 6 October, it had to provide mass vaccination in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats after a measles outbreak, in which 60 cases were confirmed.
Given the rise in misinformation, like the unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism, Dr Heather Finlayson, senior specialist in infectious disease at Tygerberg Hospital, has reassured the public that vaccines are safe, well-studied, and essential for building healthy children and communities, reminding them that the SA Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) protects them from diseases that can cause school absence, hospitalisation, or death.
She urged parents and caregivers to visit public health facilities if they have unvaccinated children, where the jabs are free of charge.
BizCommunity article – 27.6% drop in Western Cape infant immunisations risks outbreaks (Open access)
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