Vaccine hesitancy

• 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.

• Findings show political affiliation is not as strong a predictor of vaccine hesitancy as previously thought; social responsibility is the key causal motivator for adherence.
• "Efforts to change healthcare-related behavior, such as vaccine adherence, have had limited success because the obstacles are often multifaceted.
• Addressing vaccine safety concerns and showing people they may regret not taking the vaccine play a crucial role in promoting adherence as well.
• Surgo Health's analysis leveraged psycho-behavioral data collected from a Surgo Health survey conducted in early 2021 involving a representative sample of more than 2,700 US residents.

• The use of inflatable medical tents is rising in the military, owing to troops stationed worldwide and increasing military investments.
• The global medical tent market is expected to rise considerably due to increased usage of tents in the military segment, medical emergencies, and rescue operations.
• The global medical tent market is moderately competitive and is expected to offer significant growth opportunities for vendors during the forecast period.
• Some key market participants operating in the global medical tent market include Liri Structure, Instent Industries, ZINGERLE GROUP, LANCO, and HDT Global.

• PharmaJet and co-investigators from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Jhpiego , PATH and the Sydani Group met in Lagos Nigeria and have finalized the study design, outlined the timelines, protocol, and tools for the study.
• It will assess the health impact, cost, and feedback from providers and caregivers of using Tropis for ID delivery of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) compared to standard intramuscular delivery using needle and syringe.
• The PharmaJet Tropis NFIS is a WHO prequalified, hand-held device that delivers precise ID injections without needles.
• “We are thrilled to be working with NPHCDA, Jhpiego, PATH, and Sydani on this study,” noted Paul LaBarre, Vice President of Global Business Development, PharmaJet.