Vaccine-preventable diseases

• The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness.
• It takes two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against the viruses.
• Adults 60 or older should talk to their health care provider to determine if the RSV vaccine is right for them.
• The mission of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS): To promote health and safety through prevention, collaboration, education, innovation and response.

• BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) which will be commemorated with an elegant 50th Anniversary Gala in Washington, DC on September 14, 2023.
• Celebrating 50 years of education, prevention, and impact, the gala will recognize the work of NFID and the inspirational public health heroes who have helped protect the lives of millions.
• NFID supporters and public health luminaries will gather in Washington, DC to celebrate the remarkable history and notable accomplishments at the NFID 50th Anniversary Gala on September 14, 2023.
• An NFID 50th Anniversary Commemorative Book that looks back at the history of NFID and celebrates the trailblazing efforts of NFID leaders and public health heroes over the past 5 decades is also available for purchase online.

• Worldwide, in the decades 2000-2020, childhood vaccination led to the reduction of deaths in children under 5 by 50% to 5.4 million deaths per year.
• These are deaths that would have been caused by measles, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, diphtheria, pneumonia, rotavirus diarrhoea, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Scientists from the South African Medical Research Council explain why these diseases continue to threaten children’s health in the country.

The country currently has outbreaks of several diseases. What are they?

• It is the second most frequently reported disease outbreak in Africa after cholera.
• Up to 10% of children under five years of age who develop measles die from complications of the disease.
• A child requires two doses of the measles vaccine to develop protective immunity against the disease.
• The two doses of the measles vaccine are given at 6 and 12 months of age in South Africa.

These diseases are preventable. What’s behind the spread?

• The resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in South Africa is due to immunity gaps caused by low vaccination coverage.
• A national survey conducted from July to December 2019 found that only 81% of children had received all their vaccine doses scheduled up to 12 months of age in South Africa.

What’s the cause of the gaps in immunisation?

• This has led to an increase in the number of children who are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.
• Structural barriers such as vaccine availability and access to health facilities are well known to reduce vaccination coverage.
• This has had a dramatic impact on routine immunisation services and ultimately reduced vaccine coverage over the years.

What steps can be taken to close these gaps?

Globally, many initiatives exist to improve childhood immunization, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Within the context of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) programme, WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, are launching the “Big Catch-Up” initiative. This initiative aims to support countries like South Africa to plan and implement intensified efforts to bolster immunisation. It has three main objectives:
• Interventions that are focused on improving the healthcare system include cold-chain infrastructure improvements to ensure availability and access to vaccines.
• Informing and providing education to caregivers and healthcare workers has also been effective increasing vaccination in children in cases where parents were hesitant.
• However, not enough research is done on interventions to dispel misinformation and misconception regarding immunisation, which is one of the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy.

• Thanks, Science.” Messages like this are used in memes, posters, T-shirts and even some billboards to promote routine vaccinations.
• Phrasing that aims to encourage immunizations by highlighting their accomplishments implies that some diseases are no longer a threat.
• Moreover, a 2020 poll had found that 84% of adults viewed vaccinating children as important, a 10% decline from 2001.
• A shift in focus to immunization in developing countries has further lulled Americans into a false sense of security.

Campaigning against a devastating disease

• Before vaccines, polio – called infantile paralysis or poliomyelitis – was the most feared childhood disease in the U.S.
• Frequently affecting elementary school kids, the disease sometimes presented like a cold or flu – fever, sore throat and headache.
• Only time could reveal whether the paralysis was permanent or would recede, sometimes to return decades later as Post-Polio Syndrome.
• High schoolers performed polio-themed plays, putting the disease itself on trial in “The People vs. Polio.” People passed around collection boxes at movie theaters and other public gatherings.

From public enemy No. 1 to success story

• Over the next decade, the NFIP shifted its focus to widespread immunization, again using both mass media and local campaigns.
• The repeated declaration of what polio vaccines could and were accomplishing was strategically effective in persuading more people to get their shots.
• The American public of the 1960s and 1970s had lived through repeated polio epidemics and knew both the fear of contracting the disease and its visible aftereffects.
• Public health rhetoric that focused on this vaccine success story worked around the world in the late 1980s and 1990s.
• A reminder for the American public about this still dangerous disease can help ensure that “Got Polio?” does not become a serious question.