HOW VACCINATIONS HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD AND SAVED LIVES


Vaccination is an important part of preventing life threatening diseases. Here's how they help.


South Africa follows the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunisation, which introduces a series of vaccinations for children from birth to protect them against various life-threatening diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis and measles, among others. Many vaccines need follow-up booster doses, so make sure you stick to the dates set out on clinic cards to ensure your child gets the maximum protection.

WHAT IS VACCINATION?
A vaccine helps the body’s immune system to produce antibodies (substances that fight disease) so, if a person comes into contact with a disease, the body will be ready to fight it because it ‘recognises’ it. (The body has already come across the disease and fought it successfully). Vaccines can’t cause disease because the vaccine uses inactivated strains.

IS IT SAFE?
According to Prof Gregory Hussey, Director of Vaccines for Africa Initiative, ‘Vaccination is probably one of the most cost-effective public health interventions of all time and saves millions of lives every year.’ Vaccine development and testing are highly regulated, and after they have been approved, once they are administered, they are carefully monitored to check they are working safely and effectively.

WHAT IS HERD IMMUNITY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
If enough people in a community have been vaccinated, it becomes difficult for the disease to spread to those who were not able to take a vaccine due to ill health or a weak immune system, for example.



PROOF THAT VACCINATION WORKS
Here are a few examples of the tremendous success achieved by vaccination.

Smallpox used to be a killer disease – one in every four people who contracted it would die. A 10-year campaign by the WHO resulted in its worldwide eradication in 1977.

Polio is a crippling disease that attacks the nerves and causes paralysis. Of the three poliovirus types, type 2 was eradicated in 2015 and type 3 in 2018. There are currently only two polio-endemic countries with type 1, which are Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since 1988, there has been a decline of over 99% in reported polio cases.

Related article: Taking a shot at almost forgotten diseases

Measles is a serious, highly contagious childhood disease that still causes deaths, even though it is preventable. Vaccination from 2000 to 2018 resulted in a 73% drop in measles deaths worldwide. From 2000 to 2018, the measles vaccine prevented 23.2 million deaths. The measles vaccine is one that needs a follow-up dose to work properly – one dose does not provide complete protection.

Tetanus affects the nervous system and can be fatal in 10 to 20% of cases. The bacteria can be found in soil and can enter the body through a cut or a burn. Since 1988, the vaccine has reduced the mortality rate by 96%.

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Diphtheria spreads by airborne droplets or saliva and is a bacterial infection that can cause paralysis, nerve damage, pneumonia and death. By 2017, there were only two cases of Diphtheria in the US.

Yellow Fever damages the liver and other internal organs and spreads by mosquitoes. Although no cure has been developed, once the vaccine is administered, it provides lifelong protection for most people travelling or living in places where yellow fever is prevalent.

Related article: The A-Z of children’s health

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HOW VACCINATIONS HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD AND SAVED LIVES HOW VACCINATIONS HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD AND SAVED LIVES Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar on May 14, 2021 Rating: 5
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